Profits and losses

This spring, two animals were wounded or killed by people in highly publicized acts.

In May, a 200-pound bear was hit and killed by a car north of Jackson. In June, reports surfaced about a Canada goose injured when a hunter illegally shot it with an arrow.

The violence against the animals angered some area residents, but wildlife and environmental experts want to remind people that humans do things to hurt animals all the time, only in a much more casual way.

"People get all upset when a goose gets injured or a bear gets killed, but they don't get upset when hundreds of acres of habitat get destroyed," said Dr. Bill Eddleman, chairman of the biology department at Southeast Missouri State University.

When wildlife areas and green space get wiped out -- most often by those with business interests -- it rarely makes the news, Eddleman said.

No one seems to mind or notice, he said.

Those in business say that's the way of the world.

"It's inevitable for progress," said Tom Kelsey, a commercial broker with Lorimont Place in Cape Girardeau. "This is what's going to happen. We just have to develop in a wise way where you provide for some green space instead of just covering the whole thing with a parking lot."

Still, thousands of acres of wildlife habitat have been converted over to other types of habitat for humans or commercial interests across the state. That means some birds that once flew the sky by the millions and animals that roamed the wilderness and grasslands have been forced to move on.

Or become extinct.

"People are already losing touch with what was once here," said Eddleman, who also is an ornithologist. "They don't know their natural heritage anymore."

Three species of birds -- the Carolina parakeet, the passenger pigeon and the Bachman's warbler -- that once dotted the skies of Southeast Missouri are now extinct, said Missouri Conservation Department agent A.J. Hendershott.

Bison, elk, wolves and, more recently, prairie chickens used to be seen all over the state but now have disappeared, he said.

Nearly every human act has an environmental impact, experts say.

"No matter what you do," Hendershott said, "it affects the environment. If you put in an office complex, or whatever, it affects wildlife. There's no way to get around it."

Neither Eddleman nor Hendershott blames the business community, saying that commercial development has benefits and obvious uses. Other environmentalists often point a disparaging finger at the business world, saying it's putting profits over quality of life and environmental responsibility.

Some residents also believe that to be the case.

For example, Georgeann Huck, a resident of Commerce, Mo., was furious to learn that trees along Mount Auburn Road in Cape Girardeau are coming down to widen the highly commercial street. She doesn't see that as progress.

"Progress cannot be measured in dollars and cents," she said. "It can't be looked at in terms of how many more automobiles race up and down that road. Cape should be concerned about the environment. Doesn't anybody care?"

Assistant city engineer Abdul Alkadry said the city did not want to remove the trees, but there was no other room available.

"There was no other place to go," he said. "We had discussions with the owners of the trees, and nobody wanted to cut them down. But we felt like we had to in order to widen the street."

Business leaders say regulations are in place to protect the environment.

"Some would argue there are too many," said John Mehner, president and CEO of the Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce. "It's not a business' intent to destroy natural habitat."

But Mehner said any new development disturbs green space in some way.

"But if you don't do it, you don't have habitat for humans, you don't have jobs for humans," he said. "Besides, I think Cape Girardeau is gorgeous. We still have an unbelievable amount of trees and rolling hills. We will always have that as long as we continue to develop intelligently."

Both Eddleman and Hendershott said business owners should keep the environment in mind as they build. They pointed out that some larger communities have ordinances that require new commercial developments to dedicate a portion to green space.

Cape Girardeau city planner Kent Bratton said no such green-space requirement exists in city ordinances. But the city has a lot of green space anyway, especially in the way of parks, he said.

The city has 24 parks and a total of 617 acres dedicated to parkland, he said. Add the wildlife areas -- Kelso Wildlife Sanctuary, Juden Creek Conservation Area and Cape Woods -- and the city has more than 1,000 acres of green space.

"It's substantial," Bratton said. "The city was pretty aggressive in the 1980s and managed to land-bank a lot of park ground."

Destroying wildlife habitat is not as applicable to Cape Girardeau as it is in other places, said Mayor Jay Knudtson. Those animals that are moved out by development simply go to other places, he said.

Knudtson said requiring green space as part of new development has real merit. But he believes city leaders would have to be careful not to make the city a less attractive place for new business ventures.

"I think it's about drawing a balance," he said. "People are emotional about animals. But you've got to put it in perspective."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137