[APWG] BLM buys > ONE MILLION lbs. exotics/year? - EXOTIC-FREE by 2011??

[Craig Dremann]

Dear All,

I've found a 2005 report on the web, by Scott Lambert and Peggy Olwell
from 2005, a Powerpoint presentation entitled "Seed use by the BLM" that
is cached as a text document by Google at
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:5FZbyrYML6MJ:ftp://ftp-fc.sc.egov.usda.gov/PMC/Conferences/WestPM-Mar2006/ScottLambertBLM-SeedUse.ppt+crested+RSW+BLM&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=3&gl=us&ie=UTF-8

According to this 2005 slide show, the 10-year average for BLM's seed
buys was 2.2 million pounds, with a high of 6.6 million pounds in 1999
and the 2005 purchases were 3.6 million pounds.  

The very unfortunate part of the story, is that 41% of those seeds
purchased in 2005 were exotics, or 1,476,000 pounds, with their weed
seeds and other crop seeds.  At 1% weed or other crop, means that about
14,000 pounds of weed seeds were purchased along with those exotic
seeds.

The exotic seeds annually purchased by BLM, list hasn't changed much
over time: Crested wheatgrass, Russian ryegrass, Siberian wheatgrass,
Small Burnet, Sainfoin, Alfalfa, with minor amounts of Pubescent
wheatgrass, and Yellow sweet clover.

I CANNOT UNDERSTAND at all, the disconnect between the professional
BOTANISTS and professional ECOLOGISTS that BLM has on staff, and the
purchase of over a million pounds of exotic seeds, to sow back onto our
public lands?  It doesn't make any scientific or ecological sense?

Maybe a spokeperson from BLM can enlighten us, why all these millions of
pounds of exotic seeds were purchased by the agency, when it is known
that these exotics are damaging to the native ecosystems they were sown
into?

Shouldn't BLM start winding down the purchase of exotic seeds, say by
33% a year for the next three years, or a decrease of about 1/2 million
pounds a year, to purchase ZERO EXOTIC SEEDS by 2011?

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