Serious issue/Proposed USDA
- Subject: Serious issue/Proposed USDA
- From: c* h*
- Date: Sun, 24 Mar 2002 18:27:37 -0700
Marge,thank you so much for keeping us abreast of this issue.( easy to
miss this time of year,pre-occupied as we all are)
Reasonable controls,compliance sure you bet,but this is reaching
irrational portions..Freedom is slowly fading into the sunset on this
front and many others,primarily because the only voices heard are those
with a 'cause'..
Do we not also have rights?and a cause?
Please all, consider that if we do not speak out ,only those that
brought this issue to this end will have been heard.....(and dont forget
the chemical companies which will profit greatly when the push comes to
remove the exotic 'weeds' from our public lands,and as I hear it that is
definetly coming as well.)
Whats next?a knock on our doors announcing that they have come(chemicals
at the ready) to bring our gardens into
compliance?!..Impossible?Farfetched?..I pray thats true.
Connie
(I am leaving her message fully intact in case any might have missed it
prior.)
Marge Talt wrote:
> Hi gang,
>
> I have not seen mention on this list about the pending Draft Action
> Plan for the Noxious Weed Program, so I am going to copy and past a
> post I sent to Perennial list in reply to one about it. Apologies to
> those of you on both lists for the duplication. I do feel this is
> such an important issue for all of us.
>
> Here goes:
>
> Linda,
>
> There is a good deal of fact in this information. It is NOT an Urban
> Legend, but a very serious issue that, if implemented in its present
> form, will adversely affect all gardeners in this country. What you
> have posted comes from the J. L. HUDSON, SEEDSMAN site:
>
> http://www.jlhudsonseeds.net/USDAComment.htm#Letter to Congress
>
> and refers to the Draft Action Plan for the Noxious Weed Program,
> which can be read in .pdf format (you need Adobe Acrobat plugin)
> here:
>
> http://www.aphis.usda.gov/ppq/weeds/weedsjan2002-pub.pdf
>
> The USDA currently has the power, vested in the Plant Protection Act
> that was signed into law by President Clinton a couple years ago, to
> restrict through regulation and permit requirements the shipment of
> plants, seeds, plant parts, and propagules interstate. They are not,
> currently doing this with the exception of known and listed noxious
> weeds, but they have the power and if this Draft plan is implemented,
> I fear the day when they use this power will not be far off. Should
> they choose to exercise it, they have the right to fine any of us for
> sending seeds or plants across state lines. At the moment, this only
> relates to known and listed noxious weeds, but if this Draft proposal
> is implemented, it will soon include all plants that have not made it
> onto their 'clean' list.
>
> More worrying to me are the proposals in this draft that would
> implement risk assessment and weediness screening of ALL plants and
> the development of what is termed a "modified clean list", which
> means that any plant NOT on this list could not be sold, traded or
> given away by anybody. In reality, it is not possible to screen
> every plant now known or yet to be discovered for every ecosystem in
> this country. This means, in reality, that any new plants would
> simply be banned, as well as many now in cultivation.
>
> The really scary part is that in order to implement risk assessment,
> they would likely use a model proposed by Dr. Sara Reichard of the
> University of Washington, USDA advisor on invasive plants. This
> model would ban (according to a post by Tony Avent who talked to her)
> 40% of the plants that we commonly grow in our gardens, and which are
> not invasive. It would also mean that a plant that is invasive in
> Hawaii would be banned throughout the US, whether it had a chance of
> survival in other climates or not. We all know that one person's
> weed is another's treasure, depending on where you are trying to grow
> the plant. One size does not fit all the climates in this vast
> country.
>
> Further, such policies require adequate, scientifically verified
> methods of predicting which species would be "invasive" and all
> scientific attempts at such predictions have failed.
>
> USDA is moving steadily ahead in implementing restrictive regulations
> in the guise of controlling weeds and invasive plants. They are not
> dealing with the causes, only with implementing restrictions that
> will, ultimately, result in banning all plants that are not on a
> list. Currently, they maintain a list of known, proven noxious
> weeds. This is perfectly adequate. They also propose guidelines for
> adding and removing plants from this list...I have no quarrel with
> those.
>
> I do feel, however, very strongly about a 'clean' or 'white' list and
> subjecting all plants to some sort of 'risk assessment'. It is not a
> practical, feasible matter and, if implemented, will end our freedom
> to grow what we want; to buy, trade and send seeds and plants as we
> see fit. Noxious weeds and invasive plants are not caused by
> ornamental gardening.
>
> There is one week left for public comment on this Draft proposal. I
> urge EVERYBODY to send email and copies to your legislators and the
> USDA. The Hudson seed site has made this very easy to do. It
> provides links to find your legislators and a guide letter to use.
>
> I urge everybody to educate themselves on these issues. But, if you
> simply cannot spend that time, at least copy and send the guide
> letter if you care about biological diversity and our right as
> citizens and gardeners to send and receive and grow the plants that
> we want to grow.
>
> This is very serious and time is growing short. They have not
> allowed enough time for public comment, nor has USDA made sufficient
> effort to inform the public. They do not include representatives of
> the gardening world among their advisors or stakeholders; they are
> simply ignoring the impact on gardeners and the nurseries that supply
> us with our plants.
>
> The Time To ACT is NOW!
>
> Marge Talt, zone 7 Maryland
> mtalt@hort.net
> Editor: Gardening in Shade
> -----------------------------------------------
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