Get off ATVs
Editor, Naples Daily News:
Once again I find myself irritated by a recent article about ATV riding in the southern Golden Gate Estates.
It is implied that ATV riding is ruining the ecosystem out there, but I don't hear about how the boats in the Gordon River and the Gulf of Mexico are affecting the waters and the marine life or the chemicals dumped on the pristine golf courses that run off into the canals and the Gulf creating red tide.
The difference is this: When rainy season hits, the grasses of the Estates grow back like no one had ever been there. That is not the case for the manatees in the Gordon River or the Gulf of Mexico.
Give it a rest and let us have our fun. If it was truly doing damage then the wildlife out there would not flourish — and believe me there is plenty of wildlife out there.
The casualties from the golf course chemicals do not survive and everyone wonders what red tide is all about. Find another bandwagon to jump on like maybe banning insecticides and pesticides from the area or boats from going in known manatee zones.
We are not hurting anyone; we are just trying to have fun.
Kathy M. Wood/Naples
http://www.naplesnews.com/npdn/pe_letters/article/0,2071,NPDN_14962_3345080,00.html
