The Air Force proposal to develop a bomb testing range in the Big Bend area should be a major concern for every citizen in the region. Although the only negative environmental impact may be a 30-foot hole in the ground and a frightened squirrel, the devastation to our eco-tourism economy may be deadly. The first time the Air Force decides to test a weapon at the Big Bend Bomb Range, CNN and all the network news stations will run a story. It may have only a minimal impact on the environment, but that first bomb will destroy the perception that our region is the "Nature Coast", many of our would be tourists will quietly change their plans and not visit here. They may e-mail their friends who also enjoy fishing, scuba diving, sailing, bird watching, river tubing, or kayaking and tell them about the bomb range. They will probably look for a more "natural" place to visit on the Louisiana, South Carolina, Georgia, or North Carolina coast. Those vacation choices will become part of their yearly routine and their children will also choose those other places for their natural based recreation. There is ample room for this testing at Eglin Air Force base where the military has nearly 724 square miles of land on which to conduct these tests. There are many other military bases that would function for this purpose as well. But there is a risk of an accident with these tests and the military does not wish to place their assets at risk, so Levy, Dixie and Taylor Counties get bombed and our eco-tourist economy goes up in smoke. The Bomb Range Bed and Breakfast does not have the same appeal as the Nature Coast Inn. The Air force did their homework on the environmental concerns, but they failed completely in addressing the economic impact of this proposal on our eco-tourism economy. It is a good time to contact our representative in the congress, Ginny Browne-Waite and Governor Bush to ask them to have the Air Force find a better location for this bomb range.
To contact Representative Ginny Browne-Waite: US Representative Ginny Browne-Waite
1516 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Toll Free from anywhere in the 5th district:
1-866-GWAITE5
http://www.house.gov/brown-waite/contact.htm
Governor Jeb Bush
jeb.bush@myflorida.com
Write:
PL 05 The Capitol
400 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Telephone:
850/488-4441
Fax: 850/487-0801
To contact the Air Force planner in charge of this project:
Ken Bristol
Natural Resource Planner
101 West D Avenue, Suite 222
Eglin AFB, FL 32542
kenneth.bristol@eglin.af.mil U.S. Senator Bill Nelson
United States Senate
Hart Senate Office Building
Room 716
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183 bill@billnelson.senate.gov
U.S. Senator Bob Graham
United States Senate
524 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-3041
Fax: (202) 224-2237 http://graham.senate.gov/staff_contact.html | 
