For years I have bemoaned the fact that people move to this part of the country because it is so beautiful, then change their piece of the beautiful landscape to suit their own purposes.

They build huge houses on top of the mountains so that they can view the beauty of the mountains without venturing past the picture windows. Those of us in the beautiful landscape now see the reflection of that picture window rather than the tree covered mountain that was there before. The people looking out of their window have no clue that they have changed these mountains forever. Removing tops and sides of mountains changes how and where the water flows, which in turn changes what happens in the creek and river once the water gets there. This in turn changes where and what plants grow, and alters wildlife habitat. Thanks to the advent of mechanized earth moving, 95 percent of our mountain bogs are completely gone, along with the endangered species that once lived there.

It is interesting to note that a landowner owns everything on his or her land, which means they have the legal right to destroy any endangered (flora) species if he or she so chooses. Wild animals that cross property lines are considered to be owned by society at large; therefore, wild animals are protected by hunting laws. Plants have no protection by law. If an endangered plant species is living where the landowner wants to put his house, it’s curtains for that plant. In reality, the landowner rarely knows that he is adding to the extinction of a plant species because he rarely actually steps foot on the land. He thinks up a plan, hires an architect, and a contractor; and his wishes come true so long as he has enough money to pay for it. The more money involved results in bigger bulldozers, bigger houses, and bigger loss of our beautiful natural heritage.