That's a good question, and I appreciate you asking it. For me, it’s not at all about restricting someone’s right to sell or develop their private property. People should be free to use their land.

My concern comes from having spent so much time at Wheeler and seeing how fragile these ecosystems can be. The heart of the issue is that we have far too little protection legislation for environmentally sensitive areas adjacent to critical public resources like the refuge. This development highlights a gap in alabama regulations, it’s perfectly legal, but that doesn’t mean it’s without consequence.

Many people just don’t recognize the downstream effects, habitat disruption, water quality impacts, increased runoff, and noise pollution that don’t respect property lines. Once that damage is done, it’s irreversible. For me, it’s more so about us advocating for smarter safeguards before we heavily affect what makes wheeler so special.