Leaf Litter
Raking in Notes From All OverJune, 2005
Island Will Be Fixed When Pigs Fly
In the last edition of The Leaf-let, we told you about the $3.9 million contract awarded to a New Zealand hunting company for eradication of nonnative pigs, which have lived on Santa Cruz Island (CA) for 150 years. While the reason given for the pigs’ slaughter is their foraging and decimation of native plants, public outcry has been leveled against the Nature Conservancy and National Parks Service, which is seeking to return the island it its "native" state. In a recent Santa Barbara News-Press article by editorial pages editor Travis Armstrong, "The public may never get to see the full picture of the images of ugliness on Santa Cruz Island because of the tight control of the Park Service and Nature Conservancy." Paul Albright of S&S Seeds responds: "We agree that this mission has struggled with mistakes, but we just don’t know enough about the web of life to put a disturbed system like Santa Cruz Island back in balance. We need the lessons learned in this study to be able to protect the human habitability of this planet. I don’t like to kill pigs, but I eat bacon on airplanes."Deer in the Headlights
It’s not just the piggies that have to worry about their existence. At Point Reyes National Seashore, 40 miles north of San Francisco, adorable fallow and axis deer, which were introduced to the area 60 years ago, have no idea that park rangers consider them an invasive species that are starting to threaten native deer and elk. And, like the Santa Cruz Island pigs, they are chomping up excessive amounts of vegetation, threatening the balance of the ecosystem. Point Reyes officials have created a plan that requires the sterilization of about one-quarter of the deer and the shooting of the remaining 75 percent. The final draft of the plan is expected to be issued late this year, with eradication of the deer to begin in 2006.Growing Like Weeds
Arizona is fighting its share of invasive weeds, including the nonnative buffelgrass, which, according to Julio Betancourt, senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey, "...is the worst problem facing the Sonoran Desert." Buffelgrass is a "noxious weed" that is used primarily for cattle forage, but has become a hazard that grows so densely it can cause the spread of fires, destroying native cactus and killing animals. Other Arizona scourges include knapweed, a source of Chewing’s Disease, and Dalmatian toadflax, which, while beautiful, can take over other ornamental plants with a vengeance.Aussie Says Roundup is Ready
The Leaf-let has been following the story of herbicide-resistant plants, specifically those genetically modified with Scotts/Monsanto’s Roundup Ready® gene, since 2002. Recently, Stephen Powles, an Australian plant biologist, told a Texas audience consisting of corn- and soybean-growers that resistance of glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup®) is a minor problem in his country and that Australian farmers are coping by varying their chemicals and using nonchemical methods to get rid of weeds. Powles believes that glyphosate is effective, inexpensive and environmentally safe..
© 2005 Wendy Dager
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