permaculture

[Claude Genest <genest@together.net>]

Hi Kirby,

Thanks for that - I sometimes feel quite alone defending our friends the
exotics - interestingly, I just yesterday heard on the radio a fellow named
Bill Danielson, who's written abook called "Speaking of Nature" and I was so
incensed by his view of exotics that I actually began to write a rebuttal
last night !
HE said, for example that what makes exotics a "problem" and worthy of
eradication is that they are "agressive" and outcompete the natives" and I
couldn't help but wonder how he supposes natives got to be so firmly
ensconced in the first place ? Clearly they were better suited to their
environment and over the millenia outcompeted others.....

Then, as you say, where is the notion of succession in all this ? When one
says that a plant "takes over" do they not realize that they do so for only
a short while in preperation for the next wave ?

My other contention is, even if you spray like hell and use all your biggest
guns to try and eradicate a bug or plant, you'll NEVER get them all - only
two have to survive and they will be two tough S.O.B.'s !

I think this discussion really points out the fabled "paradigm shift" we
hear so much about - I read somewhere how the Gaia Theory is as important to
our age as the theory of relativity was to a past one - For those who "get"
the idea of earth as (intelligent) organism, the theory seems so
self-evident and no big deal - to those who don't , it's a pie-in the sky
notion.  Th opinions regarding invasives are , I think merely a symptom of
this deeper held world view....

Claude

P.S. I just noticed in today's mail that Dan Hemmenway of Barking Frogs PC
has a pamphlet called "Kudzu utilization Concept Paper"...

> From: "Kirby Fry" <peace@totalaccess.net>
> Reply-To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
> Date: Tue, 27 Aug 2002 07:04:41 -0500
> To: <permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Subject: Re: [permaculture] Exotic Plant Erradication
> 
> Hello Claude,
> 
>>> I saw the pics of the water hyacinth and thought, "that's more of a
> solution than a problem"  <<
> 
> I tend to agree, they produce incredible amounts of biomass and pull the
> nitrogen out of the water column, plus they're beautiful.  I was talking to
> a friend of mine about the "encroachment" of trees onto disturbed prairies
> (another sore point for the rabid exotic plant eradicators) and his response
> was, "Thank god the trees are outdistancing the men with their machines and
> chain saws."
> 
> That we (those in the permaculture community) are glad for the presence of
> exotics and woody plants sets us apart from the aggies and native plant
> societies.  It's a distinction I'm proud of and have had several
> conversations with Bill Mollison about.
> 
> He sees the invasive woody plants as nurse trees for the next wave of
> succession, and if an exotic  plant has useful properties, which they almost
> always do, then it's up to us to utilize them in a way that builds biomass
> and wealth.  Even kudzu, he says, is edible by pigs and cattle.
> 
> So I think we, the permaculture community, play an important roll in helping
> people to realize the potential of these exotic / invasive plants.   And
> once again the old adage of working with nature rather than against it must
> be our credo - no exceptions!
> 
> 
> Kirby Fry
> 
> For the real scoop on environmental and social justice issues check out the
> archives of Democracy Now!
> http://www.webactive.com/webactive/pacifica/demnow/archive.html
> 
> 
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