Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["John D'hondt" <dhondt@eircom.net>]

Very sorry to say that reintroduction of apex predators looks impossible here in Ireland. Some well meaning people went to a lot of trouble to reintroduce golden eagle and white tailed eagle and not a week went by this spring and summer without one or more of these fantastic birds being found poisoned and dead.

I don't know whether this happens all over Ireland but in West Cork rural people burn land, trees and hedgerows as a form of recreation. Whenever it gets dry enough for a fire to take they poor some petrol and light a match. Sometimes whole forested areas go up in flames and a few years ago 200 sheep were burned too and I have never known the culprit to be even fined. We noted the record of over 320 simultaneous fires going from our position quite high up a mountain in bird nesting season.

Others use roundup for recreational purposes. One farmer not too far away bought a back sprayer for each of his three teen age sons and they love it. Things get dryer when round- upped and then they burn better.

I'd prefer wolves and bears as neighbors sometimes.

john

----- Original Message -----

From: Pego Rice

To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org

Sent: Saturday, August 21, 2010 9:01 PM

Subject: [Livingontheland] Predators and the soil Re: Muscovy ducks

Oh yes, Ireland lost all it's high-tier predators and great forests.  I do hope their re-introduction helps get your topsoil back up a bit, if they ever hit ground.  There's a connection there that most people don't know about, but you're quite right to think that with predators the greater variety is a good thing, sign of a balanced ecosystem. We're gradually noticing that effect here in the US, hopefully not to late on it. Helps the soil maintain and recover.

 

http://www.umac.org/rss/videos/theReturnOfTheWolf.mp4

 

Heh, when I read that list I realised I'd left several off, nearly 8 local egg, duckling and duck eating snakes plus turtles.  Even squirrels will eat duck eggs.  Muscovies are not much for flying anywhere, they are non-migratory and I think evolution will someday turn them into a warm weather penguin if humans (and out of control fox) don't kill them off.  They just wander about, making nests and laying dozens of eggs until they can clutch out a couple and raise them.  I get to observe them in the wild, I take, far more than most here on this list....

 

Yours, Pego

<<A wide variety of predators might actually be easier I have often thought. There is nothing here that can efficiently deal with fox or mink except humans. Of course the natural vegetation of near impenetrable gorse or briars on bog land do not help.
Thanks for taking the time to let me understand.>>john>>

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