meet the beetles

so UCSB is spending alot of time worrying about invasive species...researchers are writing papers about the varmints that hitch rides from world traveling Americans, and then they get off and start doing all that damage to our environment...damn foreigners!!

now the latest nonsense from the folks at UCSB, which at one point was a great institution, is the attempt, as one hippie chick said, to bring biodiversity "back to the people"... in order to do that, they enlisted the help of the fire depts and started burning the vegetation around Coal Oil Point to get rid of invasive non-natives...in their place they will plant natives..and then, I guess the researchers and weed warriors will feel better about themselves..

Restoration Projects
COPR has a number of exotic and invasive species that must be eradicated or controlled (Table 1). These plants have degraded natural habitats and displaced native species. COPR has started removing the most invasive species such as Acacia, pampas grass, iceplant, and Myoporum (Figure 7). The grasslands (Figure 7) are also in need of restoration because European grasses dominate the vegetation and prevent native species to become established. Grazing and fire, which were natural phenomena at COPR, are now absent owing to fire suppression and loss of large native grazers. California native species of non-local origin have been introduced in the past to the Reserve as part of soil remediation projects, by accident, or by unauthorized planting. These plants must be removed to avoid hybridization with local genotypes and to limit confounding effects for researchers studying these species. Sites have been restored over the years through a number of volunteer efforts or grants.

I've never heard so much bullshit in my life, but anything to keep the grant (tax) money coming in!!

and I've observed this attitude and watched while the members of this native -only cult have spent untold sums of tax money to watch themselves piss in the wind...from the Channel Islands to the mainland, a program of anti foreign species propaganda is metered out to the press and the public falls for it...but if the public just took a look at the wasted efforts, they would pull the plug and start firing anyone who attempts to "restore" any patch of land , ever again..the whole notion that some species should not be here because they came from somewhere other than here, is flawed and silly...dispersal is a fact of life....and nature loves to disperse...

I like to point out the waste by Caltrans when they unnecessarily planted and irrigated the 101 road side form Santa Cruz to Carpinteria..esp from Padaro to Santa Claus Lane in Carp..they chopped down pines and eucs, installed an elaborate irrigation system which has been leaking for two months on Padaro, and now we have an ugly, ill conceived landscape project with many of the native plants dying becasue they can't thrive and won't adapt next to the ocean or highway...adaptibility is the keynote to survival....
people simply need to learn to leave things alone...

the latest propaganda is from UCSB..some stoner researchers claim that invasive insects are costing taxpayers billions....

from the Independent: The National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) in Santa Barbara has sponsored a group of scientists to research the impact that invasive forest insects have on taxpayers’ wallets — and according to a prepared statement from UCSB, taxpayers do indeed fork out large sums of money due to forest invasions of beetles...
that's misleading..the fight to get rid of invasive species is costing billions, not the actual species themselves.... and the fact remains: the majority of plant introductions have had little impact on natural systems in new areas of cultivation

Invasion Biology
One of the more pervasive topics in biology today is that of invasive species. This has consumed researchers across all fields of biology, from evolutionary biologists and ecologists to botanists and horticulturists. The arguments, debates, articles, research, facts, and myths have all led to finger pointing, botanical cries of outrage, doomsday extinctions, and further floral hysteria. The path of reality and compromise between players is a continuing battle that has brought warring factions to the tables, while at other times has led to covert lobbying and legislation...

who benefits from all this floral hysteria?? the folks who receive grants to study it, the chemical companies who sell pesticides, the tourist outfits who want you to visit the new improved native-only Channel Islands..and on and on....

and the taxpayers keep shelling out the money to promote "biodiversity"....there is no ecological problem with fennel on the roadside..but there is a psychological issue when people overreact to the growth of certain plants........and that's where the focus needs to be.....