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Blue Ridge 2020:
An Owner's Manual
by Steve Nash
The following excerpt is from Blue Ridge 2020: An Owner's Manual
by Steve Nash.
Copyright c 1999 by
the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the
publisher.
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Excerpt
In his new book Blue Ridge 2020: An Owner's Manual, author
Steve Nash explains--among other changes facing our Blue Ridge
Mountains--the danger of introducing new and foreign species of plants
and animals into the Blue Ridge.
"Today," he writes, "the movement of species into new areas is
common--so common that it `dwarfs' natural rates of change, researchers
say." This phenomenon is called biopollution, and Nash tells us that this
kind of change in the Blue Ridge can damage its native ecosystem.
Following is a list of recommendations from research entomologist William
Wallner as printed in Blue Ridge 2020 on how to slow the
movement of invasive foreign pests:
BIOPOLLUTION: WHOSE PROBLEM, WHO PAYS?
- It is much better to stop exotics that "stow away" on shipping with
thorough inspections in the countries where they originate than to try to
detect them when they arrive here. This also minimizes inspection delays,
the need for fumigation or other treatment, and confiscation of products
in our ports.
- Countries lacking expertise or resources might be subsidized by
wealthier countries to take preventive steps--much cheaper than trying to
solve the problem a the "receiving end."
- International cooperation between scientists is a critical need. The
united States should support an immediate global scientific effort to
compile and categorize lists of invasive pests for sharply increased
quarantine and surveillance.
- The ecological and economic costs of pest invasions should be
considered on a global basis, among nations and trading blocs, and they
should immediately standardize procedures and identify the highest-risk
pests.
- DNA tests should be used to identify high-risk pests now, in each
country where they originate. Then regulatory officials would know
exactly where a new invasion has come from, and they can track down how
it arrived.
- Alert import-export businesses as to pathways that pests use to
enter
North America and share the information with trading partners.
- Make the user fees already charged for inspections of exports and
imports available to APHIS to fund research on identifying, detecting,
and eradicating exotic pests.
- Enact laws that will permit U.S. government agencies to sue those
responsible for all losses associated with intentional or accidental
introductions of exotic pests. Penalties now are minuscule.
- The United States should reduce its dependence on import raw wood
because of its potential for the introduction of new exotics that attack
forests.
Sources: Wallner interview and Wallner, "Invasive Pests,"
167-80.
For more information about the book, the author, and the Blue Ridge,
go to the author's website at http://blueridge2020.com
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