Concern for us collectors(Please Read)

Hello to you Gene.
Have hoped that you would reply to this post and now will thank you for
your that response..
As  always you  bring common sense,clarity,,rational thinking to the
table,calming the waters with your insight.
Your words both reassure and worry me at the same time.

I have spent many hours researching this subject since that original
post,and in so doing have noted that in many areas there are people
/groups/organizations participating in this, that seemingly have limited
knowledge of this vast subject..Some admitting that they are "guessing"
'speculating'if a plant is 'invasive'(alien plants of course)....
Those that reveal that they are less than expert(and ask for feed back
by others)worry me less than those who list questionable plants with no
mention as to their reasoning or lack of experience.
But the more I read the more I am convinced that Gov.has made more
disasterous choices than any other single source..
Once more we are at the mercy of bureauracy whose blunders we must
endure.

One more subject:
I am perplexed as to why  the human race must always be left out of the
equation  where ecology is concerned; its as if we are not here at all
and/or that all we do is bad for the planet.....Are we not part of the
chain of life? Have we not evolved along with other life forms..(Yes,I
am aware of all the damage we have done as well)
I recognize that we are 'in charge'so its a fore- gone conclusion that
we are part of the equation but something is amiss here that is very
difficult to define.I.E.Everyone complains about Hawaii,(just one
example of course) that it is  losing it native plants due to human
activity,etc.
But  my understanding is that since it was a barren volcanic island to
start with, it only had what washed up on its shores..
And as various  plants came over the millenia, many did not evolve
compatibly and so became extinct..(all this without any intervention of
mankind)..Humans have such a short frame of reference,if we check the
history of those animals and plants who we know of as extinct ,saber
tooth lions,dinasours,etc.it seems apparent that evolution will take its
toll and we certainly had nothing to do it ...
Much of the 'good'things on the Islands( i.e.Papayas,pineapple etc)were
brought in yes,by humans from various islands and later from points
around the world.To every new island the Polynesian peopled, they
carried the Taro root and several others planting ,were they not
interfering with an existing 'native habitat'?..
Every one expresses concern that the planet is becoming botanically
homogeneous,but are we not increasingly homegeous as a people as well
,and as such some will  out number those who were previously dominate
...
Is that 'un-natural'?Perhaps we should all go back to our points of
origin?Realistic?NOT!
Evolution is speeding up to an albeit, here to for ,un-natural rate due
to travel etc.but to assume that is all negative is in my opinion not
all together true. Safeguards?you bet but lets not go over the deep end
here.
As the old saying goes:' the only thing for certain is change'.....
Last but not least I certainly agree this is a high politicized subject
and it appears that it can be lucrative for the 'right'parties.
Thanks for letting me have my say.
I wish you well.
Connie

At 11:31 AM 7/30/00 -0400, you wrote:
>hello Connie,
>    This one has been around for some time. It pops up ever 6 months or
so
in the
>nursery trade magazine in one form or another.
>    Yes it is "serious" and is not going to go away. What form it
actually
ends up
>being is any one's guess.
>    To a large degree this initiative is the results of a grass roots
movement
>that has been escalating for some years now. The conversation groups,
native plant
>societies. "Exotics" and "non-native invasives" are buzz words now. All
of
the
>groups I belong to have one or two meetings a year on nothing but these

subjects.
>All the major gardening magazines have picked up on the subject as have
the
>newspapers. It is a hot button that gets fast interest and reaction.
>    I have nothing against having my level of "enlightenment" raised a
notch or
>two on occasion, but this topic will continue to be mostly knee-jerk
reactions for
>some time. Like all movements, fads and forced enlightments it will go
too
far to
>one extreme and then changes will begin to occur to correct the
process.... mostly
>after the button has worn out an no longer easily pushed.
>    The U.S. is one hey of a big and very divers county. What is
invasive
in you
>neck of the woods may or may not be invasive in my garden. We go
through
that one
>all the time here on these gardening lists.
>    If events happened exactly as the "whitepaper" envisions then I
along
with
>most other small nurseries are out of business. I, however, do not
think
it will
>end up that way. Will there be more legislation on import of plants?
Probably.
>Government is the worse offender and needs to clean its own house
first.
>    Gene Bush     Southern Indiana    Zone 6a     Munchkin Nursery
>          around the woods - around the world
>genebush@otherside.com     http://www.munchkinnursery.com
>----- Original Message -----
>From: connie hoy <coneh@USWEST.NET>
>Subject: [SG] Concern for us collectors(Please Read)
>
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