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Dear Farm Bureau,

I was severely disappointed to see the article on West Nile Virus and destroying wetlands (10/28/02 BFN) written by John Parker from Trumbull County. The article was misguided and misleading. The fact that the Farm Bureau even printed it is disturbing. Trumbull County has a problem with standing (stagnant) water due to poor soil drainage, as do many other locations in the state. Water stands in ditches, low spots and in the tops of containers and other items left outside such as toys, wheelbarrows, tires, machinery, discarded items (scrap metal piles), buckets and other containers. This stagnant water provides ideal breeding locations for mosquitoes and, most importantly, there are not many natural predators of mosquitoes and mosquito larvae that also live in this limited amount of water. That is why eliminating standing water in these locations will help limit mosquito populations.

Wetlands, on the other hand, are thriving and diverse ecosystems which contain many natural predators of mosquitoes and mosquito larvae (fish, frogs, birds, larger insects, bats, etc). I believe the person who said wetlands have no economic benefit was misquoted. There might not be as high a financial value placed on wetlands as there is placed on other property. This is mostly because wetlands cannot be easily developed into more shopping malls and housing developments like our farmland can. However, wetlands are priceless to both farmers and nonfarmers alike, as natural drainage and filtering systems, to support an incredible amount of biological diversity, and for pure human enjoyment of nature and wildlife among other reasons.

Michelle Vargo