[APWG] SCI AMER. needs many, many replies

[Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company]

Dear All,

Writing from the part of the planet that is the most completely covered
with over 1,000 species of exotic plants, and its understory between sea
level and 3,000 feet elevation covered 99.99% by those exotics, I think we
need to reply to that magazine about that perspective.

Regarding the SCI AMER. article that Exotics are overhyped, is like saying
that the Black Death in Europe has been overhyped.

When any exotic plant gets naturalized in North America, that means for
every square foot that the invader occupies, that is a square foot where
the indigenous native ecosystem is experiencing extinction.

After doing my 1997 2,000+ mile mile-by-mile megatransect at
http://www.ecoseeds.com/megatransect.html in the western States, the worst
exotics were the intentionally planted species like crested wheatgrass,
smooth brome, exotic clovers, either by highway departments or the Federal
government on BLM lands.

Even worse that the intentionally planted exotics, where the areas where
the native grass and forb understory was extinct, leaving vacancies for
new exotics in the future.  I found that to be the case on the East Coast
in the forest understory, and when I did megatransects in the SE, like
from Atlanta to Huntsville Alalabam, for example.

The only place on the East Coast where I found an intact understory was in
Maryland at the US National Park only 15 miles from Washington DC at Great
Falls, Maryland.

I would really hate to see our North American ecosystems only existing
100-200 years from now, only in the National Parks, like zoo specimens,
and we do not take action right now regarding these exotic invaders, and
protect the remaining examples of pristine native ecosystems that do not
have protection in the next decade.

Sincerely,  Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333