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permaculture - RE: Grasshopper control.

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Subject: permaculture

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: goebel <goebel@wsu.edu>
  • To: "'Mike Carter and Carol Cannon'" <cobcrew@sprynet.com>, "permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu" <permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: Grasshopper control.
  • Date: Sat, 7 Nov 1998 09:11:27 -0800

I am familiar with your area and was involved with the grasshopper issue.
The unstable nature of the grasshopper population issue is related to
desertification. If you look to the lifecycle of the grasshopper, they
tend to thrive with increases in bare ground and associated dryer
conditions which limit their parasites.

What is causing the increase in bareground? The tall grass prairie (and
associated communities) evolved with herding ungulates and behaviors
associated with pack hunting predators. There is a clue about this, a
town on the other side of Austin named "Buffalo Run".

In a millisecond of ecological time, vast herds of bison and antelope
roamed your region being chased by wolves and humans. We have replaced
these communities with non-disturbance, fire, and non-herding migratory
herbivores.

I have several friends in your area that ranch and have reversed
desertification, increasing native species, recharging the aquifers with
water (wonder why Texas and other regions like California are having
flooding problems), and decreasing bareground. This shift on their land
resulted in decreased grasshopper outbreaks even when neighbors had
horrific problems with grasshoppers.

We have all kinds of tools available to us to enhance our quality of life
and ecosystem. It amazes me why our culture has thrown the tool of
herding herbivores out. Even in America's Yellowstone Park, once
migratory herding buffalo graze in the Lamar River bottom like grazing
cattle, totally destroying "protected" watershed.

My question from all of this is: "why is it so difficult for people to see
"herding, migratory" ungulates as a viable (vital) tool to restoring
ecological health over most of the land area of the earth?" It doesn't
mean cows, but a domestic type ungulate may be the critter that can get
desertification reversed.

Thanks.

-----Original Message-----
From: Mike Carter and Carol Cannon [SMTP:cobcrew@sprynet.com]
Sent: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 10:52 AM
To: permaculture@listserv.oit.unc.edu
Subject: Grasshopper control.

Our area suffers from excessive numbers of these periodically; I don't
know what species but they have even eaten all the leaves off our
blackberry bushes. Our neighbors have given up gardening completely. The
grasshoppers seem to only eat certain things, but whatever they like, they
completely defoliate. According to friends, some people doing
Permaculture in a town nearby (Elgin, TX) are thinking of moving because
of the grasshopper problem.

Does anyone know of good biological or mechanical controls for
grasshoppers? I would guess we sometimes have densities of 2-3 per square
foot. And that is with native plant landscaping.

Thanks,
Mike Carter & Carol Cannon
cobcrew@sprynet.com
http://home.sprynet.com/sprynet/cobcrew
Austin, TX USA

Carl Jeffry Goebel
WSU-Kellogg Holistic Management Project
125 Clark Hall
P.O. Box 646310
Pullman, WA 99164-6310
Phone: (509)335-7342
Fax: (509)335-1082

Excellence can be attained if you...
Care more than others think is wise,
Risk more than others think is safe,
Dream more than others think is practical,
Expect more than others think is possible.





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