[APWG] Emergency desert mustard poker-game in 2005.

[Craig Dremann]

Dear All,

The latest report from Lake Mead in Nevada regarding the exotic mustard
desert environmental-wild-fire --- which you can read at 
http://www.ecoseeds.com/lake.mead.html --- is that it is going to cost
at least $5 million just to manage one of the four exotic invasive
mustard species at Lake Mead, and to keep the Listed Endangered Species
from being exterminated.

In the desert portion of California, about half of the land is managed
by government agencies, and based on the Lake Mead's experience, here is
a list of what each agency needs to budget AT A MINIMUM in 2005, to deal
with the mustard invasion:

ARMY, NTC Fort Irwin-------------------------- $1 million
BLM, Barstow Field Manager--------------------- 5 million
BLM, El Centro Field Manager------------------ 10 million
BLM, Needles Field Manager--------------------- 5 million
BLM, Palm Springs Field Manager--------------- 20 million
BLM, Ridgecrest Field Manager------------------ 5 million
California Dept. of Fish Game------------------ 1 million
California State Parks, Colorado Desert Sector 10 million
California State Parks, Mojave Desert Sector--- 1 million
CalTrans (3/5 of roadsides infested in 2005)-- 40 million
Death Valley National Park--------------------- 0.1 million
Edwards AFB------------------------------------ 1 million
Joshua Tree National Park---------------------- 1 million
MARINE CORP., MCAGCC, Twentynine Palms--------- 1 million
Marine Corps Logistics Base, Barstow, CA------- 1 million
Mojave National Preserve----------------------- 1 million
NAVY, NAWC, China Lake------------------------- 1 million
USFWS Ventura Fish and Wildlife Office--------- 0.1 million
                  =========================================

TOTAL budget 2005 Cal.Desert exotic mustards =104.2 million

-----------------------------------------------

And this level of funding will probably be needed by each agency for at
least 2-3 years, in order to get all the plants that will come out of
the soil-seedbank, after the above-ground vegetation has been managed.

It's either that we manage the mustards in 2005, or we abandon most of
the California desert and Southwest to these species --- when they take
over completely --- like they have in parts of Anza Borrego State Park
http://www.ecoseeds.com/mustards.s22.html  and the Coachella Valley at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/mustards.coachella.html .

I'm writing this so that each agency can start getting their ante
together for the 2005 Emergency Desert Mustard Poker Game---we have
nothing to lose except for our Desert ecosystems and their Endangered
Species.

I will be updating my web page on the exotic invasive desert mustards
next week at  http://www.ecoseeds.com/mustards.html

Sincerely, Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333