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[Don Bowen <don.bowen AT earthlink.net>]

Driving through Nevada I heard a radio program that was discussing a real 
problem they are having with  a non native grass.  They called it Cheat 
Grass but the fire fighters are calling it gas grass.  It seems that it is 
invasive and was introduced by Russian Immigrants.  The problem is that it 
is prolific and during fires is almost explodes and can spread a fire very 
quickly.  It is also one of the first to come back after a fire, crowding 
out other plants, setting the stage for the next explosive wildfire.  They 
are studying ways to eradicate the stuff.

Then there is always that other Russian import and noxious weed, Russian 
Thistle, better known as Tumbleweed.  I have also heard what the Missouri 
DNR does if they find Twessle (sp) on your property.  It was a plant 
imported to use in the wool industry.




Don Bowen              Awl Knotted Up                       KI6DIU
http://www.braingarage.com
My travel journal
http://www.braingarage.com/Dons/Travels/journal/Journal.html

I am omnivagant.  
> From billj AT harborside.com  Tue Sep 12 21:43:58 2006
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Subject: Re: [Homestead] Don't feed your bees on rhodies, laurels or  azaleas
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Don Bowen wrote:

> In the mid fifties it was given free to farmers to plant as wind 
> breaks.  Now it is a weed.  There are many examples, it is not just granola 
> eating hippies who fight this, it is real scientists who know the down sides.
>
>
>
> Don Bowen              Awl Knotted Up                       KI6DIU
>  
I remember parting company with the ideologues 25 years ago in botany 
class.  I guess I was just too old to be churched.  I remember standing 
in the shadow of a tamarisk tree with my botany teacher, trying to 
emulate his own learned response, hanging his head in disappointment 
over seeing a non-native, all the while trying to hide my enthusiasm, 
and above all to avoid exclaiming "what a cool shrub!"

Science does not have an ethical component, despite 20th-century 
attempts to create one, first in the social sciences and now in the 
biological.  Science just means knowledge, limited to the 5 Ws.  The 
nativist ideology that's come to be adopted, during the years since 
science abandoned ethical neutrality, might just as well been one of 
pragmatism, if people like plant technologists and horticulturists had 
been in charge, instead of field botanists.

I do agree with your statement in another email that plant introductions 
are not to be taken lightly.  But remember, we're arguing over whether I 
should be allowed matches, not over whether one should deliberately 
start a fire.  So I'll probably take steps to avoid introducing garlic 
mustard, since it's a shade lover, and could conceivably make it through 
a summer deep in the woods.

Bill
S. Oregon coast