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Re: glysophate, invasive exotics

I was planning a very similar response to what Cindy Hildebrand 
says below, but she saved me the trouble. I want to re-emphasize 
that in horticultural, agricultural, or even relatively diverse 
permacultural systems, a limited number of mostly exotic species 
form the desired ecosystem, and pesticide-free management is 
relatively easy in what is already a labor-intensive, highly disturbed 
landscape. A diverse native vegetation, in which disturbance must 
by definition be more limited, may in many situations be less 
disturbed by judicious herbicide use than by the rather drastic 
mechanical methods of controlling the same problem. It's fine to 
say we shouldn't have created the problem in the first place, but 
we're way beyond that point now, and our natural areas are 
increasingly besieged with invasive exotic plants.
James C. Trager

On 8 Apr 01, at 0:28, Grantridge@aol.com wrote:

> I found it easy to use only organic methods when I was managing a
> garden and yard.   But trying to manage prairie remnants and
> reconstructions presents different problems.   For me, the latter has
> been much more challenging.  
> 
> The people I know who use herbicides to control invasive exotics on
> conservation land, myself included, are aware that herbicides are not
> totally benign.   We use them because in some situations, the careful
> use of herbicide is the only practical and effective alternative to
> letting the exotics take over.  
> 
> Several years ago, I read about a successful organized effort to ban
> any use of herbicide on a certain piece of western public land. 
> Limited spraying had been proposed to control small initial
> infestations of an invasive exotic thistle.    As time passed, the
> land became completely covered by the thistle, to the great detriment
> of native plants and wildlife.    That outcome was apparently
> acceptable to those who halted the spraying, but it would not be
> acceptable to many conservationists.
> 
> Good land managers in my area are having a very hard time fighting
> exotics, even with herbicide use as one option.   I feel nervous when
> I hear, as I occasionally do, about people opposing any use of
> herbicide anywhere for any reason, especially when I don't hear that
> any alternatives are being offered except allowing exotic invasions to
> expand.    
> 
> I also think that careful herbicide use is often justified when
> battling invading trees and shrubs in prairies.   Cutting without
> treating can mean, in many cases, having to cut over and over again.  
>  If we had huge numbers of volunteers and paid staff to do all the
> woody removal needed on prairie remnants, it might be different.   But
> in most cases, we don't.  
> 
> I do see herbicides misused and overused in my area.   But so far, it
> hasn't been on land that is being ecologically restored, or on land
> managed by conservation organizations.   It's been on conventional
> farm fields and adjacent areas.   For example, I sometimes see mature
> ragweed being doused with herbicide as it grows in road ditches on
> soil that has eroded from the adjacent farm field.   Apparently the
> connection between soil erosion and ragweed is not known by the
> landowner.   That kind of spraying pollutes the environment, wastes
> money, and does nothing to solve the perceived weed problem.    If we
> want to reduce overall herbicide use, that kind of irrational spraying
> would be a good place to start.        
> 
> Finally, for those interested in invasive exotics, I recommend the
> February 2001 issue of BIOSCIENCE, which is a special issue on "Global
> Movement of Invasive Plants and Fungi."  (As a bonus, there's an
> interesting article on cattle grazing and conservation).   The article
> on "Horticulture as a Pathway of Invasive Plant Introductions in the
> United States" may be of special interest to those involved with
> garden clubs, nurseries, arboreta, botanical gardens, etc.  
> 
> Among other things, that article suggests voluntary efforts by the
> above-listed organizations that could help reduce the risk of new
> invasive exotic introductions, and reduce the further spread of
> invasive exotics that are already here.   It also presents some
> initial evidence that gardeners may be more willing to cooperate in
> halting the spread of invasives than previously thought, if the
> gardeners are informed about what's at stake. 
> 
> Thanks for wading all the way through this extremely long email, and I
> hope everyone is enjoying Spring.
> 
> 
> 
> Cindy Hildebrand
> grantridge@aol.com
> Ames, Iowa
> 
> "...on the warmer southern slopes a few of the splendid bird's-foot
> violets of the prairie were showing the azure color which would soon
> make some of the hillsides as blue as the sky..."   (Herbert Quick) 
> 
> 
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