I was wondering who do you contact for the damage of wetlands and disturbing the endangered freshwater clams and mussels. Has anybody noticed the people out there boring the ground on Shotwell Rd behind the RBC? I walked out there yesterday afternoon and seen where they had dug up the clams/ mussels. These are endangered.
The land is dry, and has been for quite a while. It can't be wetlands, it's on the side of a hill (well, it was until they flattened it in order top build whatever they're planning to build on it).
Wetlands do not always have to be wet or flat. Most protected or designated wetlands include a considerable buffer around what is 'wet'. This is protect from runoff from development and also because many of the species that rely on wetlands do not necessarily live in the water, but on the outskirts. Regardless, I do not believe this to be part of the designated Dwarf Mussell protected area (according to Johnston County GIS).
OMG, IT'S A STUPID MUSSEL !!!!! That stupid mussel had us detour around the hwy 50 bridge at Old Drug Store Road for 6 months while they relocated the stupid things. Give me a shucking knife and a 6 pack and we can have an extinction party with them.
Go to h$%%, dan, go straight to h$%%. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200. Look it up. Find out exactly what those "stupid" mussels do for a living. Sometimes you grate my very last nerve. Frogger :evil:
I agree. That was pretty freakin ignorant. In a world where hundreds of species become extinct everyday (most due to human activity) I think we should tread a bit lightly. Those mussels clean the crap folks like you probably dump in the streams to begin with.
If it is a concern with an endangered species then you can call any wildlife station. You can also contact USFWS. If it is a wetland concern, then you can call either DWQ or Army Corps.
EPA is who you need to contact. EPA delayed the 10 bypass for 7 years because we have them in AP and they were afraid the bypass would effect them.
http://www.well.com/~davidu/extinction.html This is only one link of many, however this is common knowledge and admittedly is usually referred to as species often yet to even be discovered. You probably doubt this because when you think of species you think of lions and tigers and bears, but not something terribly obscure like the South Carolina Snorting Frog Snail (made this one up of course) that usually exist in some micro-environment that was just plowed over yesterday by a developer building the newest Wal-Mart. Here's another: http://www.well.com/user/davidu/sixthextinction.html ...and to quote "Every year, between 17,000 and 100,000 species vanish from our planet,". I have heard this a number of places over the course of my adult, educated life.
Grating your nerves would never be my intention. You are correct that the mussel is important to a small "local" part of the environment. But, you can't take the high & mighty attitude on extinction and own the house you do, drive the car you do, use the products you buy every day and think that we are doing no wrong to the environment around us. You personally are little by little either killing or relocating specie every day you go about your normal routine. All of a sudden you think protecting this mussel is important while your lifestyle is killing creatures every day. See my point yet? All of a sudden this mussel is important to you while other specie is important to me. Thus, the mussel is dinner for me. It's inevitable that we as humans will at sometime, start killing everything including ourselves. Being at the top of the food chain shoulders major responsibility for the preservation of the creatures and plants that sustain us. You and I are both guilty as well as everyone around us in neglecting that responsibility. The sad part, we ignore the fact that our neglect will lead to our own demise. As a note, if you just moved to this area in the last 8 years you have impacted the environment two-fold over any other citizen prior to you. Your new presence to the area has polluted and confined wildlife to double the levels of 8 years ago. Before buying into the area how many people said, "Will my moving there impact the environment?" Feel better about that mussel now?
Yes...I have heard that same number over the course of my adult educated life also. But just like you, no one can name me even 10 species that disappeared yesterday...much less 200. If a species has yet to be discovered before it is destroyed, where is the evidence it ever existed? In the words of Mark Twain, "There are three kinds of lies: Lies, damn lies, and statistics".
I would like to hear someone provide a good argument to how the general public are benefited by these freshwater mussels that have cost Johnston taxpayers copious amounts of money. I'd bet a water filteration system would have costs less by now and we'd have had the 70 Bypass 5 years ago. I'm all for protection efforts for creatures, but not at tremendous expense with little benefit. Relocate the little buggers.
Protection would include habitat. If you destroy the habitat, they are not able to thrive......thus leading to extinction .