NASA may put launch pad in wildlife refuge

TITUSVILLE, Fla., Feb. 27 (UPI) -- Florida environmentalists are angry about a NASA plan to build a private launch pad in a wildlife refuge.

Several hundred people attended a meeting at the Titusville municipal building Monday aimed at convincing the National Aeronautics and Space Agency to put the pad somewhere else, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported. In addition to environmentalists who treasure the area's bird life, those at the meeting included boaters who enjoy the waters of Mosquito Lagoon and nudists who sunbathe on a beach in the area.

"That you would even consider it boggles my mind," Wes Biggs of Orlando told NASA officials. "The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge isn't just another refuge. It's one of the jewels of the federal wildlife system, and it is known worldwide."

NASA says no final decision on the site for the Commercial Vertical Launch Complex has been made. The other proposed site is inside the Kennedy Space Center.

About 1 million people a year visit the wildlife refuge and its visitor center.