Oh, boy, where to begin?
First, some background: in the ' 80s and early ' 90s, I collaborated with
Paul Whitson, ecologist and plant systematist at UNI; Paul did much to
revive interest and support (grants, grad students, fellow researchers) for
researching the "algific talus slopes" (ATS)of the "Pleistocene Plateau,"
work that originated with Thorne, Eilers, Roosa, et al in the 1950s and '
60s. Paul educated me on the rare plants and invertebrates, their
micro-habitats, associates, etc. and I did ecological photography through
five growing seasons, on a dozen or so sites in Delaware, Fayette,Clayton,
and Allamakee counties. Whitson, et al's, initial surveys and findings
spurred Nature Conservancy and US FWS & NRCS to undertake much more
comprehensive surveys, which resulted in the identification of some 600
sites in NE IA, SE MN, SW WI, and NW IL; over half are located in NE Iowa.
It beggars the imagination to find any plausibility in FB's "conclusions;"
it's really sort of astounding to see how many half-truths, evasions,
innuendos, false impressions, and outright lies could be stuffed into so
few lines.
Where to begin refuting?
(1) FB implies that these globally endangered specis on globally
significant sites (UN designation--why didn't FB mention the black
helicopters?) were forcibly taken from landowners. Hah. All sites now
under protection were either (a) already on public lands or (b) were
donated by, or purchased from, willing landowners. Most are still
surrounded by privately owned, 'working' land.
(2) FB implies that clumsy people and global warming have done in the
relict snails (actually 5 species, as I recall). Cattle grazing and
logging pose the real threats.
(3) But on the protected sites, which are typically surrounded with high,
heavy gauge fences to keep out deer, the snails and rare plants (a couple
of dozen species) are doing quite well. (The preceding five cold, snowy
winters have done wonders for them.)
(4) A "straw man" argument needs at least a sliver of plausibility
to embellish upon. I would guess that FB spun its web of lies from a
single incident involving a researcher named Terry Frest. Frest charged
other researchers with "disturbing" one of the most prolific ATS sites (at
a state preserve in Clayton Co.) and accidentally extirpating the snails.
What Frest didn't realize was that the snails, tiny as they are (the
biggest are smaller than the nail on your pinky finger), migrate relatively
considerable distances up-slope and then back down during each growing
season. He checked a downslope spot in mid-summer, and finding no snails,
assumed that they'd been done in... when in fact they were feeding in
leaf-mold about 80 feet upslope. So from such a small beginning, a
misunderstanding on few square meters on a single day in mid-summer, FB
extrapolated its remarkable conclusion that the Pleistocene snails have
vanished from at least 200 protected sites in the region.
What was it somebody once said about "the banality of evil"?
--Bill Witt
On Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 5:19 PM, Lyle R. Krewson <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
> As a matter of ‘scientific method’ reproducible, I would like to see
> their confirmed sources of environmentalists trampling on the small
> creatures and that it was enough to be a further threat to them!!
>
>
>
> Cindy Hildebrand wrote:
>
> I wasn't sure whether it would be a good idea to further disseminate
> what's below, but a Sierra Club friend thought other club members might
> want to see it. As has often been pointed out, the IFB still has major
> influence at the State Capitol in regard to environmental issues.
>
> As one of the many Sierrans who have worked on biodiversity issues over
> the years, and as a landowner who is fortunate enough to have a few listed
> species on my land, I have a strong visceral response to the piece below,
> but will let it speak for itself.
>
> Cindy
>
> http://www.iowafarmbureau.com/article.aspx?articleID=50100
>
>
> Cindy Hildebrand
> [log in to unmask]
> 57439 250th St.
> Ames, IA 50010
>
> "Winter is not a season, it's an occupation." (Sinclair Lewis)
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> ------------------------------
> Lyle Krewson
> Professional Lobbying Services
> 1725 S. 50th Street #602
> West Des Moines, IA 50265
>
> [log in to unmask]
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> ------------------------------
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