Subject: National Parks & collecting

From: KENELM W PHILIP <[email-masked]>
Date: Sat, 1 Apr 1995 03:32:00 -0900

With regard to Mr. Terrill's suggestion that all poachers should be
given the same sentence--the three indictees in the butterfly poaching case
might be overjoyed at his recommendation of a $10,000 fine! The government
is asking $250,000, according to one newspaper article...
        I agree that poaching is wrong--but asking the same sentence for a
(non-endangered) mosquito as for an endangered bird or mammal would seem a
bit odd. As a matter of fact, some National Parks spray for mosquitoes, and
most visitors to the park leave with any number of dead mosquitoes in their
cars--and the park staff couldn't care less. You are specifically allowed to
kill mosquitoes in the park. Yet if you stick a pin through one and add it to
your collection you're a poacher. That is a violation of law, to be sure, but
should it receive the same sentence as someone who goes after an endangered
mammal?
        In my opinion, the sentence should in some manner reflect the damage
done to the population. Despite the authoritative claims of the F&WS, there
is little evidence that most illegal collecting of insects has in fact affect-
ed the populations involved.
        Unreasonable laws lead to lack of respect for law, which only aggra-
vates the problem.
        The threats to most insects are habitat destruction, and competition
from introduced species. Collecting is a very minor factor indeed. The recent
attempts to strongly regulate insect collecting simply divert attention from
the real problems.

                                                    Ken Philip
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Pierre A Plauzoles)
Date: Thu, 6 Apr 1995 21:47:43 GMT

In a previous article, [email-masked] (KENELM W PHILIP) 
discusses the poaching fine situation.

>ed the populations involved.

Sure, but try getting that into some bureaucrats' thick heads....

You might as well go out to some less-regulated (ie, non-park) piece of 
land and do your surveying there, or else do it without making collecting 
any specimens which would be likely to arouse the ire of some ignorant 
nitwit who will then tell a ranger the tallest tale ever told.  Using a 
camcorder would sometimes do the trick here, but even then, it would not cut 
the mustard in a case such as involves the Martin's swallowtail in 
Bonanza King Canyon.  Clearly, we do need to have better laws in this 
field, and personnel that is willing to 1/ work with whoever wishes 
to do professional-quality field work, 2/ recognize the facts and 3/ accept 
them as such.  Although I have never had any problem, I know others have.

-- 
Pierre Plauzoles   [email-masked]
Canoga Park, California