“It was beautiful back then,” Karppe said wistfully.
The undeveloped stretch of 1,132 acres abounded with deer, and Karppe said she used to see endangered Florida scrub jays. The land no doubt also held rare animals still seen on an adjacent ranch, such as Sherman’s fox squirrels and gopher tortoises.
“We just saw all kinds of nature,” Karppe said. “It’s not there anymore. There’s no room for it anymore.”
Environmental impact is clear
The environmental damage at Rancho Bonito, an unlicensed off-road vehicle park in northwest Polk County, is undeniable. The property draws hundreds of vehicles on weekends, ranging from dirt bikes and four-wheelers to monster trucks.
KATHLEEN Craig and Linda Karppe live in what might be called the middle of nowhere.
The couple’s family property occupies 50 acres in an area that is closer to Colt Creek State Park than to a grocery store. Their home lies in extreme northwest Polk County, roughly halfway between Lakeland and Dade City and about five miles east of Zephyrhills.
To the east of their home is an undeveloped tract of 1,132 acres that appears on satellite photos as a verdant region near the headwaters of the Hillsborough River.
Idyllic? Not quite. Linda Karppe says there is no such thing as a quiet or tranquil day at her home of 34 years.
and that s dry pavement too. it shows you what can happen. and metro, amtrak and the airports, we ll check in with them. and just when things were wrapping up, one more winter weather storm on the way. straight up 7:00 on this monday morning. your latest weather headlines from the blizzard of 2010 as we look down over wisconsin avenue. the federal government closed today. only emergency employees required to work as far as the federal government goes. every major school district is closed, including d.c. schools. a full list at the top of your screen, also on myfoxdc.com. as for your commute, metro will run underground metro service every 30 minutes. buses will run limited routes at 9:00, only on the snow emergency routes. and all circulator routes are running free of charge. thanks for being with us. i m steve chenevey. i m allison seymour. we ll get the latest traffic in a moment but first let s check in with tony. man, what a wallop, a blizzard of a mess. thi