Questioning Nativism: Info for Letters to Protect Exotic Deer In Point Reyes

With thanks to Scarlet Newton, spokesperson, Channel Islands Animal Protection Association, http://www.chiapa.org

Letters must be post marked by April 8th, 2005 (Address info below.)

From NY Times article "Alien Species Often Fit in Fine, Some Scientists Contend" by Mark Derr, published Sept. 4, 2001, Science section:
Governments, private groups and individuals spend billions of dollars a year to root out non-native organisms that are considered dangerous to ecosystems....But a number of scientists question the assumption that alien species are never acceptable....they say portraying introduced species as inherently bad is an unscientific approach. Distinctions between exotics and native species are artificial, said Dr. Michael Rosenzweig, a professor of evolutionary biology at the University of Arizona, because they depend on picking a date and calling the plants and animals that show up after that exotic....a number of experts question the scientific wisdom of trying to roll back ecosystems....Defining which species belong in an ecosystem is based less on science that on historical, cultural, moral, geographic and theological arguments, said Dr. Mark Sagoff, who studies the issue at the University of Maryland's Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy. Science cannot judge an ecosystem with exotics to be worse, or less natural, than one without them, he said, without also taking into account the effects of these species on their environments....Dr. Rosenzweig said removing exotics might cause other problems....In the March issue of the journal Evolutionary Ecology Research, Dr. Rosenzweig, the editor, challenges the prevailing view that invasive alien species reduces biodiversity. The exotics increase the number of species in the environment....

From "Natural Enemies--Metaphor or Misconception," by Matthew K. Chew and Manfred D. Laubichler, published July 4, 2003 in Science magazine:
Metaphors carried the message....Like other immigrants, they were accused of immodest fecundity....reports included the press release hyperbole: land-walking, voracious, an ecological disaster....Metaphors introduce a fundamental trade off between the generation of novel insights in science and the possibility of dangerous or even deadly misappropriation. The extension of genetics to eugenics owed much of its popularity in the United States and in Germany to its use of culturally resonant metaphors. Labeling people as a burden, a cancerous disease, or a foreign body (Fremdkorper) conveyed the "threat" to society....

From article "Conservationists charged with trying to 'purify' UK plants and animals by culling non-native species", published July 6, 2003 in the UK's Independent:
A leading naturalist has accused his fellow conservationists of being "ecological fascists" for trying to eradicate alien plants and animals that threaten native species. Richard Mabey, author of the plant encyclopedia Flora Britannica, claims that attempts to kill off Spanish bluebells and the ruddy duck are unnecessary, and are little different from Nazi attempts to "purify" Germany in the 1930s. Mr. Mabey also says that the language often used by conservationists in this debate, such as "alien" and "invasive", was a reminder of Nazi eugenics programmes. "Nature hasn't the slightest respect for species and racial barriers," he said.

From "Comments on the NISC Draft Management Plan", by biologist David Theodoropoulos (author of Invasion Biology: Critique of a Pseudoscience):
Examinations of the origins of "natural" communities, ongoing natural movements of species, and the plasticity of natural successional trajectories demonstrates that the concepts of "nativeness" and "alienness" on which invasion biology rests are non-operational constructs dependent on arbitrary spatial and temporal scales, and useless in the construction of testable scientific theory. In invasion biology literature, concepts are redefined at will, and all data are reinterpreted to support the theory of harm resulting from " invasion." The literature of invasion biology is a deeply contaminated information-pool, with low standards of evidence, unsupported causal attributions, circular reasoning, selective data-mining, high dependence on anecdotal reports, undefined jargon, unfalsifiable hypotheses, and other pseudoscientific characteristics. Results depend on highly subjective judgments and are for the most part based on anecdotal reports. Dire warnings of harm from "invaders" are for the most part purely speculative. Invasion biology displays an extraordinary lack of rigor.

From "Protecting island wildlife", commentary by Scarlet Newton, spokesperson, Channel Islands Animal Protection Association, published 10/24/04 in the Santa Barbara News-Press:
"The terms native/non-native have no scientific validity with regard to species. An individual can be native born -- an island pig and and island fox are equally native-born to Santa Cruz -- but not a species. Every species on Santa Cruz, including the favored island fox descends from an ancestor that arrived from elsewhere, whether by transport or migration.

To label a species native/non-native requires arbitrarily picking a date before and after which the terms apply.

Ecosystems are dynamic. Fantasies about ecological stasis that dictate "this species must stay, that species must go " not only result in immediate cruelty to victimized individuals, they backfire down the road.

We see the removal of species upon which other species now rely -- fennel/ island fox; we see killing that begets killing -- island sheep/golden eagle."

Channel Islands Animal Protection Association
The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated. --Gandhi
Visit our website at http://www.chiapa.org <http://www.chiapa.org/>

Good PR for Bay Area non-natives:
From: DawnWatch <news [at] dawnwatch.com
Subject: Beautiful film -- The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill in US theatres now 3/5/05 >Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 06:59:06 -0800

Tonight I saw The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill. I agree with the San Francisco Weekly reviewer, who called it a "Great, important and unforgettable movie." The Jose Mercury News called it: "That rare documentary that has romance, comedy and a surprise ending that makes you feel like you could fly out of the theater..." Here is the brief description on the film's website: "This remarkable movie is the true story of a Bohemian St. Francis and his remarkable relationship with a flock of wild red-and-green parrots. Mark Bittner, a dharma bum, former street musician in San Francisco, falls in with the flock as he searches for meaning in his life, unaware that the wild parrots will bring him everything he needs. "Directed by Judy Irving. Starring Mark Bittner and avian stars Mingus, Connor, Picasso, Sophie, Olive, Pushkin and Tupelo. 83 Minutes. Rated G." It is playing in Los Angeles just for this week, till March 10, and is currently in many theatres across the country and opening soon in others for limited runs. If you go to the website http://WildParrotsFilm.com and click on "See the Film," and then click on the theatre in your city, you will find out when you can see it. I was lucky enough to be there the night the filmmakers were available for a Q&A. The theatre was packed and Judy Irving told us that if the whole run does well, the film will return to the city and play in another theatre. So the best thing we can do to support this beautiful piece of work, and to make sure it can get seen by others, is to go see it. Enjoy!

Yours and the animals', Karen Dawn (DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. To unsubscribe, go to http://www.DawnWatch.com/unsubscribe.php. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)

What You Can Do:

* Submit comments in opposition to any lethal plan to eliminate the fallow and axis deer (we recommend you send your letters by U.S. mail instead of email):

Superintendent
Point Reyes National Seashore
Point Reyes, CA 94956
ATTN: Non-native deer management plan

Or email: ann_nelson [at] nps.gov

All comments must be postmarked or transmitted by April 8.

* Send a copy of your comments to the following Federal representatives whose district includes the park. Include a cover letter know letting them that you support only humane, non-lethal methods of managing the deer populations.

Senator Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
1700 Montgomery Street, Suite 240
San Francisco, CA 94111
(415) 403-0100 phone
(415) 956-6701 fax

Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
One Post Street, Suite 2450
San Francisco, CA 94104
(415) 393-0707 phone
(415) 393-0710 fax

U.S. Representative Lynn Woolsey
Marin Office:
1050 Northgate Drive, Suite 354
San Rafael, CA 94903
(415) 507-9554 phone
(415) 507-9601 fax

Sonoma Office:
1101 College Avenue, Suite 200
Santa Rosa, CA 95404
(707) 542-7182 phone
(707) 542-2745 fax

* Write a letter to the editor of the following newspapers:

Letter to the Editor
San Francisco Chronicle
901 Mission St.
San Francisco, CA 94103
Fax: (415) 543-7708
Email: letters [at] sfchronicle.com

Letter to the Editor
Point Reyes Light
Box 210
Point Reyes Station, CA 94956
Fax: (415) 663-8458
Email: editor [at] ptreyeslight.com

Letter to the Editor
Marin Independent Journal
PO Box 6150
Novato, CA 94948-6150
Fax: (415) 883-5458
Email: letters [at] marinij.com

Talking Points from Marin Humane Society:

1. The Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) lacks evidence to indicate that the fallow and axis deer are negatively impacting the environment or other species in the park.
2. The DEIS lacks full and objective information about the feasibility of wildlife contraception methods. The DEIR should include an analysis of the feasibility of wildlife contraception written by experts in the field.
3. The DEIS lacks an alternative that considers management of the axis and fallow deer through contraception alone. (The preferred alternative uses contraception, but only in combination with lethal control, i.e., shooting the deer.)
4. The exotic deer are in the park because of human action — they were placed on a private ranch in the 1940s for hunting purposes. We now have an ethical responsibility to devise a humane and non-lethal approach to managing them.
5. The axis and fallow deer are a special and important part of the visitor experience to the Point Reyes National Seashore and this unique wildlife viewing opportunity should not be destroyed.