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

[Bob Beyfuss]

Hello Andrea
If your neighbor plants something on his or her land that has or will have 
a negative impact on your land you have a right to sue. If the science 
clearly proves that his or her actions are damaging your property, you will 
win. If your neighbor's dog bites you or your kid you can sue but I don't 
think we need a federal law that prohibits owning a dog or a specific breed 
of dog i..e a pit bull because it may bite someone.  Personally I would 
prefer to discuss the issue with my neighbors and educate them as to the 
consequences of their actions before resorting to lawsuits but I still 
think this approach is more appropriate than having the federal government 
decide what you or your neighbor can or cannot plant. If your neighbor 
happens to be the federal, state or local government, you still have the 
right to sue. Actually I am surprised that this issue is not in the courts 
right now and maybe it is, perhaps other list members can comment on this 
or the status of lawsuits along this line. Since environmental 
organizations such as the Nature Conservancy have identified invasive 
plants as a serious threat, it seems that they or perhaps NRDC or other 
environmental organizations would fund such a lawsuit. Once the government 
loses such a lawsuit the "institutionalized" practice of planting invasives 
will end.
Bob

At 03:06 PM 12/28/2006, you wrote:
>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
>
>
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