[PCA] FW: NEWS: The monarch massacre: Nearly a billion butterflies have vanis...

Steve Erickson wean at whidbey.net
Fri Feb 13 16:13:13 CST 2015 

A few comments:

Buddleia’s on the market being sold as sterile are not 
exclusively so. That is, they still produce some viable seed. 
The Oregon Dept, of Agriculture, for example, has a policy of 
approving cultivars marketed as sterile that produce “produce 
less than two percent viable seeds”. http://www.oregon.gov/ODA/programs/NurseryChristmasTree/Pages/ButterflyBush.aspx

Seed production is abundant (3 million seeds/ plant has been 
reported: 
http://www.issg.org/database/species/ecology.asp?si=650). So, 
even 2% viable seed can amount to 10s of thousands of seeds.

  Buddleia davidii seed is relatively small, i.e. frequently 
described as “dust like,” and can be spread by wind and rats 
(see: 
http://manoa.hawaii.edu/hpicesu/DPW/rbt_files/rat/2010rat4.pdf). 
Simply because not very may seedlings appear on this person’s 
property (property size?) does not mean that the plant(s) are 
not successfully reproducing from seed elsewhere. I’ve 
observed probable spread from seed voer a distance of about 1/4 
mile through a forested area (in low elevation coastal 
Washington State).

Breeding induced sterility may not persist over time. See this discussion:
http://nativeplantwildlifegarden.com/developing-sterile-invasives-why-bother/

Finally, the states this “seller” of Buddleia states she 
will ship to include numerous states where Buddleia is 
recognized as invasive - even if it is legal to import the 
plant. See, i.e. http://www.na.fs.fed.us/fhp/invasive_plants/weeds/butterfly_bush.pdf

And getting back to the original issue (the proposed ESA listing 
of Monarch Butterflies), if the spread of herbicide resistant 
GMO crops is the threat, this may be the only mechanism under US 
law to address that threat. I’m curious if anyone else knows 
of a possible alternative route?

-Steve

======================================


On 2/13/15 at 4:59 AM, SMITHCATH at ecu.edu (Smith, Catherine) wrote:

>Hello Steve Erickson,
>
>I forwarded your comment to Rose Franklin, who is not on the 
>listserv.  Her reply (below) is informative.  Better 
>fact-checking seems in order.
>
>Appreciatively,
>Catherine Smith ________________________________________
>From: RoseFranklin at aol.com [RoseFranklin at aol.com]
>Sent: Thursday, February 12, 2015 8:37 PM
>To: Smith, Catherine
>Subject: Re: [PCA] NEWS: The monarch massacre: Nearly a billion 
>butterflies have vanis...
>
>Hi Catherine.
>In some areas of the U.S., Buddleia is invasive but like 
>Tropical Milkweed, in other locations it isn't invasive at all. 
>We've had butterfly bushes on our property for 20 years and 
>we've only had 10 or 12 volunteers pop up in all those years. 
>And Steve should be alerted to the fact that there are now 
>Buddleias on the market that are sterile (likely produced by 
>plant breeders who knew there'd be a request for them in the 
>near future).
>Steve wrote: While she does include a disclaimer about there 
>being states she can’t ship to, she does not disclose why 
>(the seriously invasive nature of this species).  In reality, 
>it is the Japanese Beetle Quarantine that restricts me from 
>shipping to more states than I do. It is not illegal to ship 
>Butterfly Bushes to the states I don't ship them to.
>Later.  Rose
>
>
>In a message dated 2/12/2015 5:10:50 P.M. Eastern Standard 
>Time, SMITHCATH at ecu.edu writes:
>"This person"?  "Peddling"?  "Lack of consciousness (or 
>knowledge)"?  A little arrogant and disrespectful, maybe?
>
>Arguments can be made, pro and con, as to whether the 
>Endangered Species List is a good way to protect the monarch.  
>This list might be a place to discuss policy, if uncommon or 
>unpopular opinions are not personalized as was done here.
>
>Activists for the monarch come in many forms--ordinary citizen, 
>knowledgeable volunteer, agency professional, etc.   Action 
>also takes many forms--creating habitats, raising and releasing 
>butterflies, educating, seeking legal remedies, etc.  Open 
>minds and varied methods are what we need.
>
>Catherine F. Smith
>Spring Mills, PA
>________________________________________
>From: native-plants 
>[native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] on behalf 
>of Steve Erickson [wean at whidbey.net]
>Sent: Wednesday, February 11, 2015 9:02 PM
>To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
>Subject: Re: [PCA] NEWS: The monarch massacre: Nearly a billion 
>butterflies     have vanished
>
>I notice that this person is peddling Buddliea davidii. While
>she does include a disclaimer about there being states she
>can’t ship to, she does not disclose why (the seriously
>invasive nature of this species). This lack of consciousness (or
>knowledge?) immediately makes me seriously question her
>arguments for why listing per the ESA would be bad for Monarchs.
>Note that she ignores that if listed, impacts to Monarchs would
>have to be addressed in the pesticide registration and renewal
>process. And a lawsuit requiring the same for approval of
>pesticide manufacturing GMOs would likely be successful. So, if
>the widespread planting of these GMOs is negatively impacting
>Monarchs, this will provide a legal mechanism to address that.
>
>-Steve
>
>=========================================
>
>On 2/11/15 at 1:37 PM, SMITHCATH at ecu.edu (Smith, Catherine) wrote:
>
>>Adding to the conversation. . . .
>>
>>For another perspective, read Rose Franklin's  "Plausible
>>Negative Consequences of Protecting the Monarch Under the
>>Endangered Specieis Act" at  www.butterflybushes.com/press_room.htm
>>
>>For a perspective on planting milkweed, read "Which Milkweed to
>>Plant for the Monarchs?" also at www.butterflybushes.com/press_room.htm
>>Franklin is author of Fast Track Butterfly Gardening.  She
>>gardens for butterflies including monarchs in central Pennsylvania.
>>
>>Catherine F. Smith
>>Spring Mills PA
>>
>>
>>________________________________________
>>From: native-plants
>>[native-plants-bounces at lists.plantconservation.org] on behalf
>>of Kwong, Olivia [okwong at blm.gov]
>>Sent: Tuesday, February 10, 2015 9:39 AM
>>To: native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
>>Subject: [PCA] NEWS: The monarch massacre: Nearly a billion
>>butterflies have    vanished
>>
>>http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/02/09/the
>-
>>monarch-massacre-nearly-a-billion-butterflies-have-vanished/
>>
>>The monarch massacre: Nearly a billion butterflies have vanished
>>By Darryl Fears
>>February 9 at 4:47 PM
>>The Washington Post
>>
>>Threatened animals like elephants, porpoises and lions grab all
>>the headlines, but what’s happening to monarch butterflies is
>>nothing short of a massacre. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
>>summed it up in just one grim statistic on Monday: Since 1990,
>>about 970 million have vanished.
>>
>>See the link above for the full article text.
>>
>>_______________________________________________
>>native-plants mailing list
>>native-plants at lists.plantconservation.org
>>http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/native-plants_lists
>.
>>plantconservation.org
>>
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>Whidbey Environmental Action Network
>Preservation     Education     Restoration
>Box 53, Langley, WA   98260
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Whidbey Environmental Action Network
Preservation     Education     Restoration
Box 53, Langley, WA   98260
(360) 579-4202
wean at whidbey.net
www.whidbeyenvironment.org
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