This is in response to a recent letter to the editor regarding a presentation by scholars from the Aucilla Research Institute (ARI) to the Jefferson County Board of County Commission.
A comment was made in the letter regarding ARI being “locally grown”. The institute is indeed a product of the local community and is a tribute to the foresight of the scholars, businessmen and other community leaders who developed the concept of the institute. It has become a credit to the region with its contributions to scientific and human knowledge and education.
Another comment was made that the material presented was “biased”. This was certainly not the case. ARI was invited to present information on the natural and historic resources of the region that should be considered when planning any type of development. That would seem to be a wise approach to setting policy to development, and that was the extent of the presentation.
An issue was made in the letter regarding the illustration of the location of various historic sites by colored dots. Those “dots” represented the precise geographic coordinates of all such sites which have been recorded with the Florida Division of Historic Resources and included some sites recently recorded by the ARI that have not yet been made available for wide-spread distribution. It is difficult to see how this could be considered as biased information.
An issue was raised about the location of wetlands being shown in green. The locations of those features were based on the National Wetlands Inventory maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and green seems to be an appropriate color since it is the predominate color of such areas.
The writer then implies that, since Jefferson County does not have a Spanish fort, the County’s historic and archaeological sites cannot be used for economic development. This is patent nonsense. The town of Monticello is an outstanding example of an antebellum town whose historical structures and street layout are largely intact, and Jefferson County as a whole has numerous such structures, cemeteries, and sites which form a basis for development of an important economy based on heritage tourism.
Next, the writer implied that, in the event landowners aren’t aware of cemeteries on their lands, such sites could be destroyed without repercussion under the provisions of Florida Statute 872, this is absolutely not the case. No one can disturb a human burial site marked or unmarked and if they do so unknowingly must report it. To do otherwise is a violation of law. The writer’s assertion that such sites can be blithely destroyed for road or other construction without fear of consequences is both false and deeply insensitive since these sites throughout Jefferson County have direct ties with the area’s modern communities. It is one of the most important projects of the Aucilla Research Institute to bring knowledge of these and other historical sites to scholars and members of the public,
An issue was also made about the statement that wetlands were widely recognized as important due to their role in aquifer recharge. That statement in the presentation included the fact that they are also important for temperature regulation, water purification, floodwater storage, carbon storage and plant and animal habitat. It was not stated that all wetlands are recharge areas as suggested in the letter. Nevertheless, they are critically important in their recharge role and the destruction of over half of the nation’s (and Florida’s) wetlands has been recognized as a factor in the continual lowering of our aquifer over the last century.
Another comment was made about the depiction of the predicted limit of a direct hit by a category 5 hurricane with the suggestion that highways were not significantly affected by the recent Hurricane Michael storm. All the writer needs to do is to contact his Florida House of Representative member, Jason Shoaf, and ask him about the damage that took place to his hometown of Port St. Joe. Located twelve miles east of the eyewall impact, Port St. Joe experienced damage that most people are incapable of visualizing. The letter writer should realize that the impact of hurricanes varies with the direction and speed of approach and passage. As a result, the impact of each event is different. It would seem to be prudent to consider the maximum limit in development planning.
Overall, the comments revealed an astonishing lack of understanding of the nature of the natural and historical resources discussed, as well as their importance to this area. In a July 2019 issue of Science, one of our nation’s most prestigious peer reviewed research journals, Dr. Mike Waters Director of the Center for the Study of the First Americans said “Page-Ladson is the oldest radiocarbon-dated site in North America with artifacts of the first Americans, including a bifacial knife, found among the bones of extinct animals.” The Page-Ladson site in the Aucilla River Basin is in our own back yard. It is the oldest site in North America that has withstood the critical scrutiny of scientific research! Sometimes when people move from more populous areas to areas such as Jefferson County, there is a tendency to try to replicate the development of their former homeland in their new area of residence. Unfortunately, when considering the damage to the natural and historical resources in some intensely developed areas, it would not seem prudent to replicate such development practices. Rather, an approach considering, and more in harmony with, the history and environment should be used. That can only be accomplished by being aware of where such resources exist.
The Board of
the Aucilla Research Institute