Tag Archives: Merritt Island National Refuge
I dream of a federal government that doesn’t overreach
Most people associate Cape Canaveral with NASA and the Kennedy Space Center, but many licensed commercial fishermen and crabbers in Merritt Island rely on the waters of Florida’s “Space Coast” to earn a living and to support their way of life. Our friendly federal government has decided to threaten that way of life, for reasons that leave much to be desired. A trip down memory lane to the “Space Age” provides background for this ongoing story of government overreach. In 1961, NASA announced its plan to acquire Florida land for the “Space Race” with the Soviet Union, and NASA received a great deal of submerged land in the Space Coast area from the state, including a well-known fishing spot known as “Mosquito Lagoon.” The took charge, and the government then created Merritt Island National Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. At that time, the federal government respected the right to earn a living and it did not interfere with those making a living fishing the waters in those parks. Not so anymore, of course. Read the rest here 09:11
