[APWG] New Yellow Starthistle Fact Sheet--management suggestions won't work List

[Craig Dremann]

Dear Olivia and All,

Thanks for the note on the new Yellow Star Thistle Fact Sheet.  

The only problemm, is that none of the management methods on the fact
sheet, work effectly here in California against the 25 million acres we
have here.   Those techniques have been studied in isolation, as part of
decades of University research at UC Davis, but you don't see them being
used anywhere commercially on a large scale in California.

None of the Biological controls, none of the Chemical controls, none of
the mechanical controls, none of the suggestions about grazing work that
are mentioned on the fact sheet have ever worked on a large scale in
California.  

Why?  Because none of those methods actually convert the Yellow Star
Thistle infestations back to local native ecosystems.  Even if any of
these methods appear to temporarily manage the YST on a small scale, all
you are really doing is substituting another exotic invasive plant in
the place of YST.

What we need are processes and technologies robust enough to convert the
YST and other exotic plant infestations, back to local native
ecosystems.  And the speed of those processes must be at least the
"Factor of Four."

What I mean by that, is that whatever process or technologies you use,
you need to convert exotic infestations back to local native ecosystems
at least four times faster than the exotic plant originally spread.

That means that if it took 100 years for YST to cover 25 million acres
in California, your technology must be able to convert at least one
million acres a year--otherwise you'll never catch up to the spreading
infestation.

I gave a talk about this idea last November in Monterey, that you can
read about at http://www.ecoseeds.com/talk.html

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann, Redwood City, CA (650) 325-7333