Santa Catalina is a-waitin' for me
Catalina Island Conservancy
ok the bionativists are scrambling to explain why native bald eagles are nesting in non-native eucalyptus trees....just like some folks couldn't understand why there was a statue of Santa Claus on Santa Claus Lane, some idiots can't figure out why bald eagles like eucalyptus trees... the reasons are many but I was comparing the Catalina Island Conservancy with the Nature Conservancy and the Parks Service and the contrast could not be sharper....
http://www.catalinaconservancy.org/index.php?s=news&p=faqs
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| feral honeybees are always welcome in my garden! |
the Catalina Island Conservancy takes the most reasoned approach to wildland managment and should be the model others conservationsists follow..
while the Nature Conservancy had Craig McCaw on its board and is in the pocket of BP oil, the Catalina Island Conservancy is not..if fact I don't recognize one name on the CIC board but I will say they all are doing a fantastic job!
here's a look at the Catalina Island approach
Non-Native Animals
Q: Does the Conservancy have a plan to get rid of all non-native animals?
A: No. The bison, as an example, are a part of the cultural fabric of the Island and based on a scientific study, the Conservancy manages the herd at between 150 and 200 animals, which is healthy both for the herd and the Island ecosystem. Further, the Conservancy has no plan to ban pets from the portion of the Island it stewards, but rather, to work collaboratively with stakeholders to minimize negative impacts to wildlife at the places where pets and wildlife may come in contact. The interaction between the Island’s non-native deer and the plant communities is currently being studied, with the Conservancy implementing a hunting program through a Private Lands Management agreement with the California Department of Fish and Game. It is important to note that the Conservancy has no jurisdiction over the parts of the Island it does not steward, such as the City of Avalon and Santa Catalina Island Company holdings.
Non-Native Plants
Q: Does the Conservancy have a plan to get rid of all non-native plants on the Island?
A: No. Besides not having jurisdiction over portions of the Island it doesn’t steward, the Conservancy could not get rid of all the non-native plants on the Island if it wanted to; there are too many with too wide a range to eradicate. What the Conservancy has done is to map non-native plants and to rank them, with the most highly invasive and easiest to eradicate or control being at the top of the list. Left to their own devices, highly invasive non-native plants, which pose a threat to wildlife by pushing out native plants they depend upon, would dominate the Island, including killing off the native plant communities that make Catalina unique. The Eucalyptus trees found along Old Stagecoach road are non-native, but are not highly invasive, and because of this and theirplace in the cultural heritage of the Island, are not targeted for replacement except when they die of natural causes.
it's refreshing to hear that kind of thinking instead of the kill everything mentality by the National Parks Service...
but propaganda from the National Parks Service and Nature Con continues.....
the NPS and Nature Conservancy both put the CON in conservancy...each wreaked havoc and continue their lies with public announcements about the "rebounding foxes"...but in reality, the NPS and Nature Con are guilty of this - introducing mites to kill feral honeybees, dropping poison from helicopters to kill rats, chopping down eucalyptus trees. shooting pigs and deer from helicopters, trapping feral cats, trapping and harassing golden eagles, and countless other crimes against Nature, it is long past time for a change in management of the Channel Islands- and Russell Galipeau and Kate Faulkner should be the first to be fired for their destruction of numerous species in the name of bionativism.. and they should be tried in a court of law
the Channel Islands co-conspirators, the National Parks Service and Nature Conservancy are to be condemned as well as PETA and the US Humane Society who were strangely silent on the animal slaughter disguised as a restoration
however, the Catalina Island Conservancy should bee celebrated for their successful stewardship of Catalina Island
