Yesterday I posted a news article "Wrangle Over Quarry Hurts Nairobi-Dar Road Project". After reading the article I was fuming and had to shut my computer off and try to calm down a bit. 24 hours later I am still angry and wonder if any other bushdrummers feel the same.

There is no question that the roads in that area need to be fixed. Last August while driving from Amboseli to Tsavo East I found the Kimana Road extremely dangerous. Before you get to the intersection where you would go straight to Oloitokitok or turn left for Tsavo West, there were huge crevasses in the middle of the road going 3 - 4 feet deep (huge gulleys). Thus in the article I do concur with the need to fix the roads.

However, building the quarry right in the middle of a wildlife corridor is totally insane. It is obvious from the article that making money is a huge part of this deal with little care of the wildlife, both on the part of the construction team and also on the part of the Maasai owner who is leasing the property to the Chinese road crew. The road construction crews insist it is the \"best rock\" to use. Are they in fact using that excuse so they can poach more wildlife? Why haven\'t NEMA and KWS arrested the DC, who moved the local .police in to prevent those who oppose the quarry at that site? He was obstructing the ruling of NEMA and KWS.
? paid off?

The Amboseli-Kimana area is full with unattractive volcanic rocks probably blown from Kilimanjaro when she last erupted thousands of years ago. Why can\'t these rocks be collected to fill the crevasses in the roads instead of dynamiting a quarry in a wildlife corridor? It would certainly make the places look more attractive, allow grass to grow where the rocks have been and would keep the Chinese road crews away from the wildlife corridor.

I know Kenya has a rule that NOTHING can be removed from a park or reserve. I can certainly understand that ruling if we are talking animal carcasses, wood - things that would break down and put minerals into the earth. However, if the volcanic rocks have been there for thousands of years it would appear they are not contributing much to the soil and could be moved to another area where needed.

Anyone else upset about this as I am?

I too am furious about this and about Kenya's highest officials Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga's lack of action on this matter and the related matter of the skyrocketing increase on Amboseli ecosystem elephant poaching.

Chinese road gangs have been working in the Kimana area (on the eastern edge of the Amboseli ecosystem) for over a year on the 105-km Emali - Loitokitok road, which is shown as C-109 on maps. The quarry mentioned is for this road work.

Is it coincidence that the recent seizure of 1,550 lbs of elephant ivory happened on this road? One of the largest hauls in recent history? And that the vehicle carrying the ivory had Licence Plate #KAR 197Y and a Security Car Pass sticker for the 9th Parliament Session...a vehicle owned by a current or recently departed MP.
(Still no mention in media as to whom this license plate was registered to.... Something I would think is very easy to track down.)

I'm sure the road contractor saying "the location of the quarry is for the best rock material" is simply a mis-speak. He meant to say: "it's the best area for poaching elephant ivory!"

But how do we direct our passion into constructive and positive action? I just sent a donation over the internet to one of the environmental groups protesting this quarry location. A tiny gesture. But what else can I do sitting here in New York City? Can we start a mass letter-writing campaign? To Kibaki/Odinga, KWS, NEMA, and the Roads Ministry who also gave approval for the quarry. I would hope to think if I was in Kenya now I would have the courage to sit in front of the bulldozers and even perhaps spend some time in a Kenyan prison.

Kat:

I agree with everything you've said. In fact, I love your idea of a tourist sit-in. I'm thinking about moving my trip from end of July to immediately. I would love to hire some of the GSU agents with their AK-47's available to Ol Tukai and Serena lodges to escort tourists to Tsavo West and have them drive me to the site and I would just sit and not move. If I got run over by one of the Chinese road gang trucks, oh well! At least I would hope someone would get it in the papers that tourists were dying trying to protect the Kenyan wildlife.

Knowing my luck though, I'd end up sitting on a mamba or Ash cobra And, you wouldn't be there to wrangle it!