TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Conservationist Travis Thompson weighed in on a current controversy surrounding a video displaying an unknown substance being sprayed into Florida canals.
Thompson questioned the response from advocacy group Captains for Clear Water and urged for readability and communication.
The video, which sparked public outrage, was broadly shared on-line, prompting accusations towards the company answerable for the spraying. Thompson, nevertheless, believes the response could have been untimely.
“After I noticed the video, my first thought was, ‘Wow, it should be fundraising season,’” Thompson stated throughout an interview on Florida’s Voice with Drew Steele. “This seems to be a flood management measure carried out by the district. If these canals get clogged, it could possibly trigger water to again up into individuals’s properties. It is a human security problem.”
WATCH: Conservationist, Travis Thompson tries to calm fears surrounding video of canals being sprayed with an unknown substance pic.twitter.com/H0AY6R8DC7
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Thompson, who has opposed sure herbicide functions prior to now for environmental causes, stated he made calls to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Fee and different companies to raised perceive the scenario.
He pressured the significance of science-based decision-making in relation to spraying.
“There’s lots of science behind herbicide use,” Thompson stated. “I don’t know why they’re spraying, what they’re spraying, however reacting with out realizing the info isn’t useful. Not one of the outraged people appear to have picked up the telephone to ask the company accountable what’s happening.”
Thompson additionally questioned why Captains for Clear Water board members with direct connections to decision-makers hadn’t sought solutions earlier than fueling public outrage.
He identified that Captains for Clear Water board member Chauncey Goss additionally serves on the South Florida Water Administration District Governing Board. It oversees spraying operations.
“You’d suppose they’d have the ability to get a solution on what’s being sprayed and why as a substitute of stirring the pot,” Thompson stated. “It’s hypocritical to create a mob over one thing after they have a direct line to decision-makers who might make clear and even regulate operations.”
Thompson cited an identical scenario involving Lake Apopka, the place Captains for Clear Water might have influenced the timing of a sprig plan however didn’t.
“We didn’t need them to cease spraying—simply to regulate the timing,” he stated.
Including to the complexity, Thompson revealed that Captains for Clear Water blocked him on social media years in the past, leaving him unable to view their content material or perceive their reasoning.
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