Other Members of the Mollusk Species
Desparate Situations
Call for Desparate Actions?
I Don't Think So! |
MANAGING NATURE
Donald R. Dann
Published: Monday, March 16, 1998
Section: COMMENTARY, Page: 16
So why can't we just let nature take its course? Because of the influence
of human activities from the time of early settle-ment days. We have had
continuing and mostly unrestrained development, suppression of wildfires,
introduction of foreign plants and animals and elimination of predators.
"Nature" just isn't what it once was.
Examples abound. Suburban office parks, golf courses and
shopping centers are built surrounded by lawns and lakes. We have created
ideal habitat to encourage the overabundance of Canada geese, which foul
everything. Wolves are eradicated, and deer multiply in numbers beyond
what our shrunken forests can support.
Thus, after devouring the woodland understory of native
plants and wildflowers, they overrun our gardens. Misguided early settlers
think how nice it would be if those familiar Old World songbird species
were here, so they import just a few starlings, house sparrows and others.
But our native bluebirds and other cavity nesters haven't had thousands
of years of evolution
to learn to compete with the aliens. They are overwhelmed and brought
to the brink of extinction. Thus, entire communities of plants
and animals are out of balance. The only chance we have for not just the
withstanding the onslaught but redeeming a semblance of our natural world
is with proven, science-based control and restoration methods.
Here are some actions that can be taken. Some are controversial and need
your support:
- Invasive plant species must be cut, herbicided, burned
or even biologically controlled. One alien weed, purple
loosestrife, can completely overtake a wetland. But it
is vulnerable to an otherwise harmless beetle that
voraciously eats loosestrife!
- Since no natural predators exist to keep deer
numbers under control, populations must be reduced
until effective sterilization is available.
- Our native animals cannot successfully compete with
the introduced zebra mussels, gypsy moths, fire ants,
house cats (outdoor, free-roaming ones) and similar
species. They must be controlled.
In short, nature must be managed. By letting nature "take
its course," it will be diminished and, in the end, so will we.
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