[APWG] Electronic Public Discussion: Evaluating the Invasive Potential of Imported Plants

[Andrea_Williams at nps.gov]

Bob et al.'s comments show the lack of an effective message in invasive
species work. True, many exotic species are not invasive and I enjoy them a
great deal. Also true that many exotic species are so entrenched that, for
better or worse, they are here to stay. But it is also true that people _do
not_ have a right to do whatever they want when it negatively affects other
people. You are not allowed to let your dog roam free and bite other
people. You can't burn tires in your backyard. And you shouldn't be able to
plant things that will invade my yard, or my park, or my waterway.
Screening plants for invasiveness will help stop that from happenning.
There are plenty of plants you CAN plant that "know their place." Why would
you want something that's that aggressive anyway? You wouldn't be able to
change your mind--like Pandora's box, once the ills of the world are
released there's no getting rid of them. Unfortunately, you can only
legislate for responsibility by removing rights, after requests for
responsible behavior have been ignored. I work in national parks, which are
charged with preserving our national heritage--the plants and wildlife
currently threatened by invasive species. Others may want to get rid of
invasives to keep water flowing (tamarisk), or prevent unnatural fire
frequency (cheatgrass), or have more in their natural areas than starlings
and bermudagrass. We can't do much about the mistakes of the past, but we
can go forward with the best intentions.
Andrea Williams
Natural Resource Specialist
Inventory & Monitoring
San Francisco Area Network
Fort Cronkhite Building 1063
Sausalito, CA 94965
(415) 331-0639
(415) 331-5530 fax

year-end approaching
looking forward and backward
Janus I am not