Undoubtedly, the event organized by the association is richer in ideas than in participants Friends of the Padule last September 25 a Montecatini Terme. Among the usual slogans there are three main requests that the association makes to the institutions, namely the expansion of natural reserves; the return to a unitary management "scientifically correct" and, last but perhaps most important to them, economic resources that continue to guarantee survival. There are several things that the Amici del Padule seem not to know or perhaps prefer not to remember, starting from the fact that the Marshes of Fucecchio (about 1.800 hectares) is 90% privately owned and also hosts farms that create goods and jobs.
Of these approx 1.200 hectares, 300 are already a nature reserve. Three hundred hectares of land that should in theory be protected and enhanced in an even more careful way than normal but which instead - strange that the Amici del Padule did not notice - in recent years they have shown a management that has been nothing short of bankruptcy. As evidence of what we affirm there are countless pages of minutes written and verified on the spot by institutional bodies and brought to the discussion table (consultation). The problems highlighted are many, even if the main ones can be summarized in not having made any intervention on allochthonous flora and fauna that are destroying the biodiversity of our Marshes and in not having done anything to guarantee the proper water supply throughout the year within the natural reserves, an essential action to maintain the marsh habitat.
In light of this we find the requests made by the association quite incongruous, even if to tell the truth we realize that more than this they cannot ask for more, as most of them do not know neither the territory nor the actions necessary to maintain it and safeguard it. However, we hope that the attention of the institutions and politics to these issues will be very different, and it should not be otherwise considered that this management has not been able to protect the three hundred hectares of existing nature reserves. Or do we really plan to expand them further to increase the devastating damage for the ecosystem of the Padule and neighboring areas caused by the aforementioned presence of various allochthones, wild boars, otters, cinnamon, Italian nappola and other weeds, not to mention pollution and lack of structural water works?
All obviously at the expense of the public coffers, which have already thrown large sums into this money-eating machine without obtaining appreciable results. Our hope, when the mitigation works in the Fucecchio Marshes are completed, is that some of these serious problems are solved. Despite the many and sometimes incomprehensible constraints that exist in this area, the reclamation consortium has done and is doing a good job, even if we take the opportunity to suggest to the regional offices to use common sense when there are to do extraordinary maintenance work, not taking the August 10th as a fixed date, but anticipate it, in consideration of the fact that those who know the area know very well that two hours of rain are enough to blow up the scheduled work of a year.
Finally, a note on those present at the event. At least we find the adhesion of the provincial Arci to be singular, present with a lot of flag: on the one hand he collects the signatures against the new regulation on the marsh area (criticizing Federcaccia), on the other he wants the extension of the natural reserves. It is not that even the "friends" of Arci do not know or pretend not to know that with this regulation the traditional hunts are respected at times and in places while with the expansion of the reserves everyone is at home or rather who goes there who feels master in the house of others? (Source: FIDC Pistoia).