CHRIS_aka_GWH
01-12-2003, 08:11 AM
Check out page 11 Sunday Mail "Time to zap our 'trffids'" This from the guy that helped stop dredging the river & opposed fish farms in the bay.
They just don't get it do they - I think I've contracted a nasty disease called Jaybeeitis, cause I sent em a serve.
Jim,
The following letter I emailed to the SM editor re your colomn calling for the control of Mangroves around the CBD.
Wise antagonist eliciting a response, or self-serving, hypocritical "Chardonnay Green" with an undisclosed waterfront interest – Which are you Jim Soorley?
How can you in the same paper (S/Mail Nov 30) list Moreton Bay as one of Brisbane’s greatest treasures, yet a few pages earlier call for the control of the natural filters of the river & bay that are beginning to rectify a century of neglect & degradation, to improve the view.
The Brisbane River & Moreton Bay need a chance to re-establish the mangrove forests of yesteryear if we are to have views of anything other than the muddy gutter the river was in the seventies. Yes Jim, forests. Not just some green trim to improve the view. Currently the river holds less than one percent of the mangroves pre-settlement.
Jim, be excited about the return of sands & a vibrant ecosystem to our river & use your influence to foster that excitement in others. After being almost dead for so long, nature is finding a way to make our river live again – let it weave its magic & watch in awe.
C. McAlpine
Mangroves Jim as you probably know are the first step in our rivers recovery process. Their unique root system actually grab sediment out of the water & establish gently sloping banks whist aerating the water. Eventually the gently sloping mud banks will allow the deposition of sand to occur (thankyou to your administration on that one) & we will eventually see more natural sandy areas (some already are coming back around Kingsford Smith Dr).
The mud deposited amongst the mangroves will allow the growth of marsh grasses toward the drying banks - these filter the runoff from the bank - further reducing the amount of sediment entering the river. And of course they provide habitat as a nursery for all those wonderful creatures in our bay.
Look at the more pristine rivers to our north & the surveys done in Brisbane's early settlement - that is what our mangrove areas are meant to be like. Why is ecotourism & the seafood industry so vibrant in the areas to our north - its not just the view of water - its the view of NATURE. Go to Port Douglas & have a beer on the deck overlooking vast tracks of mangroves - it leaves the deck overlooking the "gutter" that is our river at Eagle Street for dead.
Whilst not always agreeing with your politics I have always been a great admirer of your stand to protect our waterways as one of the greatest natural assests our city has. As such that section of your colomn seemed to me to be quite out of character & lacking vision - not the Jim Soorley I supported.
Chris McAlpine
They just don't get it do they - I think I've contracted a nasty disease called Jaybeeitis, cause I sent em a serve.
Jim,
The following letter I emailed to the SM editor re your colomn calling for the control of Mangroves around the CBD.
Wise antagonist eliciting a response, or self-serving, hypocritical "Chardonnay Green" with an undisclosed waterfront interest – Which are you Jim Soorley?
How can you in the same paper (S/Mail Nov 30) list Moreton Bay as one of Brisbane’s greatest treasures, yet a few pages earlier call for the control of the natural filters of the river & bay that are beginning to rectify a century of neglect & degradation, to improve the view.
The Brisbane River & Moreton Bay need a chance to re-establish the mangrove forests of yesteryear if we are to have views of anything other than the muddy gutter the river was in the seventies. Yes Jim, forests. Not just some green trim to improve the view. Currently the river holds less than one percent of the mangroves pre-settlement.
Jim, be excited about the return of sands & a vibrant ecosystem to our river & use your influence to foster that excitement in others. After being almost dead for so long, nature is finding a way to make our river live again – let it weave its magic & watch in awe.
C. McAlpine
Mangroves Jim as you probably know are the first step in our rivers recovery process. Their unique root system actually grab sediment out of the water & establish gently sloping banks whist aerating the water. Eventually the gently sloping mud banks will allow the deposition of sand to occur (thankyou to your administration on that one) & we will eventually see more natural sandy areas (some already are coming back around Kingsford Smith Dr).
The mud deposited amongst the mangroves will allow the growth of marsh grasses toward the drying banks - these filter the runoff from the bank - further reducing the amount of sediment entering the river. And of course they provide habitat as a nursery for all those wonderful creatures in our bay.
Look at the more pristine rivers to our north & the surveys done in Brisbane's early settlement - that is what our mangrove areas are meant to be like. Why is ecotourism & the seafood industry so vibrant in the areas to our north - its not just the view of water - its the view of NATURE. Go to Port Douglas & have a beer on the deck overlooking vast tracks of mangroves - it leaves the deck overlooking the "gutter" that is our river at Eagle Street for dead.
Whilst not always agreeing with your politics I have always been a great admirer of your stand to protect our waterways as one of the greatest natural assests our city has. As such that section of your colomn seemed to me to be quite out of character & lacking vision - not the Jim Soorley I supported.
Chris McAlpine