Lincoln on the importance of public opinion

Public opinion matters.

I'm modifying my statement of a few days ago. A bit of reflection and the recollection of a statement by Abraham Lincoln have allowed me to recognize the value of public opinion.

"With public sentiment, nothing can fail," Lincoln said. "Without it, nothing can succeed."

In the matter of the discovery center, this goes at least to the question of the project's credibility.

At two public meetings on the discovery center and its draft environmental impact report, about 30 people spoke, and only two spoke in favor of the project.

Most of the others, from numerous cities in the area, criticized the project or questioned the refusal of the Discovery Center Authority to listen to the community or said simply that they wanted the Natural Area protected and the current nature center preserved.

As I said, this goes to the question of credibility.

The community has told the Discovery Center Authority, in no uncertain terms, what it wants.

Therefore, if the project is truly community focused, it should probably go away and be replaced by a plan to renovate the current nature center.

A renovation of the nature center would be everything the discovery center isn't, including:

• Responsive to the community
  
• Economical
  
• Sustainable

And perhaps above all, renovating the nature center--rather than bulldozing acres of wildlife habitat to build a meeting center for bureaucrats--would be the true act of environmental stewardship.

In the matter of the Whittier Narrows Natural Area and the discovery center, the community knows what it wants.

And the community is right.