[MAIPC] ACT!!!! Not just read it and weep or gnash your teeth

Fri Jun 5 08:03:02 PDT 2015

Ms. Condon used to write for Virginia Wildlife in 2002.  And has been
making these claims for some time.  Here's a letter VNPS wrote in 2008
challenging her in print.

To the Editor

Roanoke Times

We of the Virginia Native Plant Society continue to find it disheartening
that the Marlene Condons of this world still do not understand the threat
to Virginia’s natural areas of invasive exotic plants. (*Native Plants
Aren’t Always Better*, April 21, 2008)  It’s not that natives are not
hardy, it is that plants introduced to another country (or sometimes even a
different region) do not have the natural checks and balances through
evolved relationships with insect predators and diseases to help keep them
from becoming overabundant.  As a result, some invasive aliens can and do
crowd out native species that our native wildlife (animals and insects) are
dependent on.

For example, the invasive non-native Garlic Mustard plant now appears to be
the primary reason for the decline of the West Virginia White butterfly in
our region.  The butterfly normally uses Toothwort (Dentaria) as its
natural hostplant.  However, the Garlic Mustards give off some type of
strong chemical cues for the West Virginia White females to lay their eggs
on that plant.  Thus, they prefer to lay eggs on Garlic Mustard rather than
the native Toothworts.  The big problem is that the Mustard is toxic to the
caterpillars.  Thus, the butterfly colony rapidly dissappears after Garlic
Mustard invades an area.

 We commend to your readers a book by Dr. Doug Tallamy, an entomologist and
the chair of wildlife ecology at University of Delaware, who has just
published a book called *Bringing Nature Home: How Native Plants Sustain*
*Wildlife* (web site  http://bringingnaturehome.net/ or
http://udel.edu/~dtallamy/ )  Tallamy will also be publishing a scientific
article soon in the peer-reviewed journal Conservation Biology, to provide
data on a recent study which showed statistically significant results that
insect (lepidopteran) biomass and species richness were much lower in
landscapes where alien species are the predominant plant type.  His study
also measured an associated reduction in bird species richness on
properties landscaped conventionally with alien plants.

Our Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation publishes an
advisory list of invasive alien plant species of Virginia to inform land
managers of potential risks associated with certain plant species known to
exhibit invasive behavior. That Department states: “Across the country and
around the world, invasive alien plants and animals have become one of the
most serious threats to native species, natural communities, and ecosystem
processes. They also exact a costly toll from human economies that depend
on resources and services provided by healthy ecosystems.”

Sally Anderson

President, Virginia Native Plant Society

Blandy Experimental Farm

400 Blandy Farm Lane, Unit 2

Boyce, VA 22620

On Fri, Jun 5, 2015 at 9:06 AM, Kathy Michels <kathleen.michels at verizon.net>
wrote:

> Not just weep. Act and challenge in print!! I thought this kind of
> thinking disapperared long ago smothered by kudzu mutliflora rose
> porecelainberry mile a minute , stultgrass, garlic mustard. Callery pear ,
> english ivy etc etc. (Dont we wish they would disappear on their own!)
>
> we all know there are plenty of natives that shine on degraded soil- but
> then step back for succession as soils improve. Sometimes they need a jump
> start. The problem with nonnatives is they dont allow natural succession
> and often themselves change soils to be inhospitable to natives. . Who is
> this person and do they have any training in ecology or experience with the
> natural world!! ??
>
> This piece needs to be aggressively challenged for those trying to learn
> what works. I know i have been one of them and planted every invasive you
> can think of when i started out as a young gardener!!
> -Kathy
>
> ------------------------------
> *From:* Dewey <historictimekeepers at gmail.com>
> *Sent:* June 5, 2015 8:40:18 AM EDT
> *To:* maipc at lists.maipc.org
> *Subject:* Re: [MAIPC] read it and weep or gnash your teeth
>
> She (article author) writes:
>
> "Usually nonnative plants fill an area only after it had been left barren
> because of an altered soil profile brought about by man, severe storms, or
> both. Very few native plant species can grow in poor-quality soil.
>
> By moving into these damaged areas, alien plants do what humans can’t
> easily do: they rehabilitate the soil. In other words, they are creating a
> rich soil so that—once they’ve done their job—native plants may again be
> able to grow there.
>
> Nonnative species are able to obtain nutrients from nutrient-poor soil and
> transform them into plant tissue. When that plant tissue is returned to the
> soil (such as when leaves detach to be replaced by new ones or when the
> plant itself dies), it becomes humus—organic material that enriches the
> clay soil because its nutrients are in a form that’s usable by many more
> kinds of plants."
>
> Huh?   Guess our concerns about changes  to pH and microfauna are
> unfounded.
>
> How many  people in Albermarle County (high ed, high income) will now be
> quoting her "facts". Nuts
>  Regards, Dewey Clark,
> On 6/4/2015 11:32 PM, Ruth Douglas wrote:
>
>
> http://www.crozetgazette.com/2015/06/blue-ridge-naturalist-invasive-plants-invaluable-to-degraded-environment/
>
>
>
> Regards,
>
> Dewey Clark,http://www.historictimekeepers.com
> Omega Recognized Service Provider
> WOSTEP Certified After Sales Service of Current Watches
> WOSTEP Certified Micromechanics
> Restoration of Vintage Timepieces
> Precision Timing Specialist
> Micromachining
>
> On 6/4/2015 11:32 PM, Ruth Douglas wrote:
>
>
> http://www.crozetgazette.com/2015/06/blue-ridge-naturalist-invasive-plants-invaluable-to-degraded-environment/
>
>
>
> Unfortunately, I read this as a last look at email before going to bed and
> now I probably won’t get to sleep for hours.
>
>
>
> Ruth
>
>
> _______________________________________________
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>
>
> --
> Sent from my Android device with thumbs via K-9 Mail. Please excuse
> mistakes and brevity.
>
> ------------------------------
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