[APWG] AGREEMENT on EXOTIC SEEDS into natural ecosystems?

[Addsum-Tony Frates]

Bob -  at least we can't fault you for also not believing in global 
warming:

http://www.zwire.com/site/index.cfm?newsid=17141426&BRD=1769&PAG=461&dept_id=74969&rfi=8

Come out west sometime and we'll be happy to show you some biological 
genocide.


Tony Frates






Date sent:      	Thu, 24 May 2007 15:53:17 -0400
To:             	Craig Dremann <craig at astreet.com>
From:           	Bob Beyfuss <rlb14 at cornell.edu>
Copies to:      	apwg at lists.plantconservation.org
Subject:        	Re: [APWG] AGREEMENT on EXOTIC SEEDS into natural ecosystems?

> Hi Craig
> I guess I am a bit nit picking about language that people use. I really do 
> not know what a "natural" ecosystem is. To me the word "natural" is pretty 
> much meaningless. After all,  what product isn't "all natural" today. 
> Madison Avenue marketers cash in on these "feel good" terms as I look at my 
> "All Natural" High fructose aka corn syrup sweetened beverage with a nice 
> picture of a strawberry on the label. It contains no strawberry at all. But 
> it IS "all natural". Arsenic is a naturally occurring substance as is 
> dioxin, uranium, mercury, lead etc. but not something I want to get too 
> cozy with.  Sowing exotic seeds that may grow better than native plants may 
> be bad policy for many good reasons but "biologically wrong" is surely not 
> one of them since they grow and thrive. They are biologically correct in 
> this sense. If they were biologically wrong they would not grow at all. One 
> of the biggest problems in trying to re-establish native plants is that the 
> environment they previously occupied has been altered substantially and 
> they are no longer as well suited to that environment as the exotics. Bad 
> policy is not based on bad biology. I am sure the ecosystems you love are 
> beautiful as they formerly existed and your concern that they may be 
> altered forever by sowing exotic plant seeds is sincere and perfectly 
> legitimate but terms like "biological genocide" are emotional buzzwords 
> that do not reflect scientific inquiry.
> Bob
>   At 11:00 AM 5/24/2007, you wrote:
> >Dear Bill and All,
> >
> >Thanks for your comments on my last message, whose subject was
> >"Agreement on Exotic Seeds into natural ecosystems?", which I have
> >rewritten, below.
> >
> >Perhaps there should be some basic definitions regarding this
> >conversation:
> >
> >1.) Sowing of any perennial exotics seeds into a natural ecosystem, is
> >biologically the wrong thing to do.  Does everyone agree that this is
> >true?
> >
> > >From everyone's conversation so far, Patricia DeAngelis message listed
> >some of the justifications for the Federal government's intentional
> >sowing of the one million pounds of exotic seeds annually sown by BLM
> >into natural ecosystems,
> >
> >And, Bob Beyfuss' messages pointed out, that we need to define the use
> >of cultivated exotics seeds, and maybe separate the conversation, when
> >we sow exotic seed on cultivated lands, versus sowing them into natural
> >ecosystems.
> >
> >And the proposal that BLM goes "Exotic-Free" by 2011, means that the
> >agency doesn't sow any more exotic seeds into "Natural Ecosystems"--that
> >we're not discussing stopping sowing exotic seeds or agricultural crop
> >seeds into cultivated lands, of course.
> >
> >Since the purchase and sowing of maybe 50-100 million pounds of exotic
> >seeds by the Federal government has been going on for at least sixty
> >years---since at least the days of the first kudzu plantings---perhaps
> >we need to pull over the seed-wagons, and begin a discussion this year,
> >of this very important issue---before too many more millions of pounds
> >of exotic seeds get sown into our "Natural Ecosystems" in the USA?
> >
> >Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333.
> >
> >_______________________________________________
> >PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list
> >APWG at lists.plantconservation.org
> >http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org
> >
> >Disclaimer
> >Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the 
> >opinion of the individual posting the message.
> 
> 
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> Disclaimer                                                                
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