Desperate for more biota than feral cats

Every day, I try to absorb myself with the native biota of the unfortunately urban sprawl. Often it's getting harder and harder to find the native biota interspersed with the new non-natives (some being highly invasive and costing millions to monitor and remove, including the highly predatorial non-native felines and Varanis species). Memories of crawling through the mangrove swamps to get to the nice, natural sandbars, say, of Fort Desoto Park, before much of the surrounding development had risen nearby, brings tears to my eyes when I look at what is left of it and many barrier islands and coastal areas of Florida today. Growing up in late 1900 Florida lends poignant memories of vast coastal and inland wetlands, pristine, potable-from-source waters, clean, breathable air. It is what brought many of the early residents down to this area, and continues to bring innumerable tourists and new residents, now making Pinellas County one of the most densely populated counties in the country. If we can maintain Florida's pristine waters and undeveloped lands, we will maintain our image as a popular destination for exploration, retirement and enjoyment. But mitigating the loss of wetlands through the construction of faux wetlands in another area is not a viable alternative.

Wetlands have always been a barrier here for development, yet certainly not unnavigable in any way if one uses his or her child-like sensibilities. Most locals call them swamps, or at least, at one point they did. The barring from development of the swampland is what keeps alot of Florida's waters clean, filtered, and admired- and why many residents have always touted and demanded keeping such water pristine and clean. How did it become tainted in under two decades? Why do I have to strive to relive what I once lived every day in the passing of a fond reverie?

Are they just memories from childhood, and wishful thinking when I walk through a reconstruction at Weedon Island Preserve (and now, Cultural Center, because humans couldn't build it in the city?)? And why is the change coming so drastically, so suddenly? Shouldn't there be a check and balance that maintains proper species ratios outside of hunting? This is not in reference to felines native or non-indigenous. Invasive non-indigenous species do not seem to be the biggest problem, though they contribute. It is easy to forget the source of the non-indigenous species: human encroachment and its subsequent contamination. A zoonotic disease in our present state, wiping out everything natural around us and replacing it with our so-called order and balance.