<html><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Dear Craig et. al.,<div><br><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Yes. The 50,000 acres are a legislatively designated (New York State) "core" pine barrens preserved area, carved out of an original 100,000 pine barrens area, the rest of which, sadly enough, became a "CGA" (Compatible Growth Area). Although 100,000 acres sounds large, it actually excluded thousands other areas of true pine barrens on Long Island.</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>The fifty thousand acre Core is in remarkably good original condition, minus a few inholdings here and there. Further, even when highly disturbed, this barrens ecosystem has a remarkable ability to return to the original. Witness a 100-acre portion of a 150-acre site destined to become a regional mall. An environmental group, The Open Space Council, stopped the project through the courts a couple of decades ago, but the developer, one of Long Island's biggest, even knowing that his case was in the Appellate Court, flagrantly bulldozed down one hundred acres of it. Mercifully he did not remove any of the soils so what we have is a perfect laboratory. The entire site has returned to a 99.9% native pine barrens over the past twenty years and, despite the abundance of invasives everywhere on the Island, none have gotten a toehold onto the site except in the barest of spots along the edges. It may be the high acidity of the soil environment or other reasons, but something in the pine barrens negotiates toward the original.<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>I have discussed with the Pine Barrens Commission, having jurisdiction over the legislated lands, when there is a vegetation violation or a site restoration needed, to allow pine barrens sites to restore themselves by simply removing all non-natives under the watchful eye of an agent or ecologist knowledgeable about plant species, or a policy to at least do so. This would be an alternative to requiring plantings, which are expensive, fossil fuel demanding, and often an ecological disaster. There is still much work to be done.<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>Also, I should mention, I am about to publish a book on LI native plants which has a sizable section and emphasis on restoration ecology the way it should be done: by planting nothing and using knowledgeable techniques to insure habitat self-restoration. I call the effort "The Challenge" and already have a surprising number of individual homeowners, businesses, agencies, NGOs, and municipalities who are taking the Challenge by designating part of their gardens, properties and preserves for habitat self-restoration under their own careful eye after training by my program. We will soon have a tracery of landscape weavings connecting one another to regional forests and fields of local genotypes derived from their own adaptation and competition, a veritable re-connected tableau. Possibly even connecting the network of ninety-nine percenters?<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>If you get the 99% biota preserves going, we may even have a program for the connectors well in place -- at least on Long Island. We should stay in touch; I may want to publish the 99% solution concept in the book. We have time. I am looking at an early 2012 date.<br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 18px/normal 'Lucida Handwriting'; color: rgb(48, 131, 35); ">Karen </div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Karen Blumer</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; ">Author, <i>LI Native Plants for Landscaping: A Source Book</i></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; "> <i> 2011 -- make that 2012! -- Revision</i></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(25, 107, 30); ">Growing Wild Publications</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(25, 107, 30); ">15 Dickerson Drive</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(25, 107, 30); ">Shoreham, NY 11786</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(25, 107, 30); ">631-821-3337</div><div style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal 'Lucida Calligraphy'; color: rgb(25, 107, 30); "><a href="mailto:growingwild@optonline.net">growingwild@optonline.net</a></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#196B1E" face="'Lucida Calligraphy'"><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></font></div>
</div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><div><br><div><div>On Oct 17, 2011, at 10:14 PM, Craig Dremann - Redwood City Seed Company wrote:</div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite">Dear Karen and All,<br><br>So are the 50,000 acres of pine barrens preserved yet? I am loving to<br>hear about these places, so next time I am back East, I can go and visit.<br>We need to have a web page with all these areas mapped for each State?<br><br>I am going to our next San Mateo County Weed management area meeting,<br>where all the local public land managers gather to talk about weeds every<br>couple of months, and suggest that we carve out these 100 acres pieces<br>locally to restore to 99% native plant cover in the next five years.<br><br>For example, developers made a promise 30 years ago, to restore some<br>Endanegered butterfly habitats in the very first Habitat Conservation Plan<br>in our county, in exchange for destroying butterfly habitats--with not a<br>single acre restored so far. Wherever promises have been made, like for<br>environmental mitigiation, might be the easiest 100 acres to snag to begin<br>the preservation and restoration process.<br><br>Also, I am contacting our State Native Plant Society and our State Fish<br>and Game Heritage program, to see what they think about the possibility of<br>100 acre preserves every 15 miles thoughout California. Since land values<br>are continuing to go down, and the ultra wealthy families always need tax<br>writeoffs, this may be the best time to get started on this process.<br><br>Perhaps nationwide, we could start to get 100 acres every 200 miles, and<br>get those areas back to 99% native cover, then move in closer and closer,<br>like every 100 miles, then every 30 miles, then finally at least every 15<br>miles?<br><br>We should not worry so much if the first cut of these new 99% biota<br>preserves may look checkerboard at first--it is much more important to<br>snag the last good examples of the local ecosystems within each 15 minute<br>USGS quad. (15 x 15 miles) while these resources are still here.<br><br>I have put this idea on my web server at<br><a href="http://www.ecoseeds.com/99percent.html">http://www.ecoseeds.com/99percent.html</a><br><br>Sincerely, Craig Dremann (650) 325-7333<br><br><br><br><br>_______________________________________________<br>PCA's Alien Plant Working Group mailing list<br>APWG@lists.plantconservation.org<br>http://lists.plantconservation.org/mailman/listinfo/apwg_lists.plantconservation.org<br><br>Disclaimer<br>Any requests, advice or opinions posted to this list reflect ONLY the opinion of the individual posting the message.<br></blockquote></div><br></div></div></body></html>