Tuesday, February 6, 1996

Hostetler said the study is designed to continue long after he and the other researchers have graduated, with others taking up where they left off. It's an important study to follow, he said, because it will help people in the future better understand the relationship between development and the environment.

"Ecologists have traditionally concentrated on pristine areas away from civilization," he said. "But now more and more are realizing that the landscape matrix between those pristine natural settings and developed urban areas is very important in maintaining species diversity in the future. So these types of projects where ecologists get together with developers may be even more important, because they can use the data we have to minimize the impact."

Collier said the open-dialogue approach is more effective than confrontation in helping create sensitivity to environmental issues.

"I've come to have a great respect for Mark and the people in this field, and the enthusiasm they have for what they do," he said. "Development is already occurring with more sensitivity to the environment. All you have to do is contrast new development with projects that went in 10 or 20 years ago."

Hostetler said he's impressed that the project's developer "went ahead with some of our suggestions. They're taking a risk, because some of the stuff we're trying may not work."

He said he has gained an education beyond the studies being conducted on the plant and animal communities. "I've learned a lot about what (a developer) can and can't do on the site," he said. "And from our conversations, I think the developer is learning from our perspective that little changes here and there can make a vast difference on the impact to the urban-suburban habitat."

Hostetler said he hopes the study, and the experience of everyone involved, will be used as a model for future developments.

"We're hoping the information from the study, as well as the interaction between the environmentalists and ecologists and developers and builders," he said, "will be available for anybody to read and use in order to maintain some type of sustainable development, and to maintain the character of the area as we know it."

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From the Gainesville Sun
Tuesday, February 6, 1996

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