Official Interference in Biology

We’ve heard tales of officialdom greasing the way for people to profit over the consideration of species and ecosystems. Now we’ve got a home-grown Florida tale along those lines.

Craig Pittman wrote an article appearing in the Tampa Bay Times that goes into the details. Department of Environmental Protection employee Connie Bersok has been suspended from her position by her supervisor, Jeff Littlejohn, for failing to approve an application giving a lot of wetlands restoration “credits” to developer Marc El Hassan’s mitigation bank. According to the article, Littlejohn’s basis for doing so is material given to him by the mitigation bank’s lawyer and its consultant. If your blood pressure is trending a bit low, please go read the article and you’ll likely find it heading right back up again.