Remember my post about my little town handing out building permits too much? The one I stated I wish they would limit permits to 3%? Someone got really angry over it. Well it is very sad. Less than a year ago leaving town on the left was high plains juniper, next to that is an airport that is set back and hardly noticable, then the National Guard building which also seemd not to be too large or invasive. From there 3 more miles out to my turn off is high plains juniper land. I quite often see a herd of antelope just after I turn left on my road. Also near the armory at two watering holes. Been this way a long long time. Now the town has approved a permit for a 70 acre Auto Mall and the first section is now plain dirt, no trees and construction going on. The airport, a man complained when he flew in there was never a hangar available. He asked for permit to build one, got it, and then thought about a money making opportunity and asked to build 12 and got the permit. So next to the Auto Mall we don't need at all and is going to seriously hurt all the car dealers we already have, are a whole bunch of steel buildings going up and they stretch over to behind the armory. We even used to see an occasional elk cross the road here. What's peeves me the most is the natural habitat from the armory to my rod turn off. Skip me, it's not about me....just a description of the area. There was two watering holes that the antelope depended on. They have been filled in with dirt! A sign on the fence says future industrial airport site! Well, in my opinion the watering holes did not have to be destroyed until some future time when something was going to go in there. Yesterday I went to town and there were about 50 antelope standing around the dirt filled watering hole! Obviously looking puzzled and lost! Not like they normally look, comfortably standing around, drinking, hanging out....they were lost and confused. I really don't know where they are going to find water now. I wish I had a camera to take pics of the whole area showing the before with habitat, and the after and then the poor pitiful lost antelope at their watering hole wondering what happend. Greed....that is what happened. It would have been a very poignant picture as you can plainly see the bare dirt fill in to level ground and the antelope standing around wondering what to do. Sorry for length of post but this carless use of our land is what annoys me. It could have been done differently and the auto mall was not needed, trust me. It will probably light up the sky at night so that I will no longer be able to gaze at the stars as in the dark of night before. If nothing else the water ponds could have been left alone. Nothing is planned or going there....but they were filled in. It sucks big time in my book.

Again apologize for length of post. I just hate to see mother nature so pushed around.

Gem