by Jim Beers
The following comment from a reader on the West Coast is, as that great seer
Yogi Berra once observed, "déjà vu all over again". Over the
past 35 years
the exact same sentiments have been expressed by:
-Salmon and cod (high seas) fishermen and lobstermen (African) about the
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
-Seal hide tanners and coastal Native Americans about the MMPA.
-Ranchers and big game hunters about the Endangered species Act (ESA).
-Woodland owners, loggers, and associated rural communities about the ESA.
-Trout fishermen and reservoir users about the ESA.
-Dog owners and breeders about the Animal Welfare Act (AWA).
-Farmers about the AWA.
-Public land users about the Wilderness Act.
-The old and the young and the disabled about Roadless Areas.
-Local businesses about Road Closures.
-Hunting, fishing, and trapping organizations about recent innocent-sounding
"conservation" proposals.
-The general public regarding much of what bureaucrats and politicians tells
us about "new" proposals.
Here is the comment from Oregon:
"Oregon agriculture is a rich producer of non-native species for
landscaping
and lawns." "They are of the opinion that they can control the
definition of
invasive species and therefore reduce the impact on their crops. I disagree.
Do you have anything that would assist in explaining this issue"?
Well, in the past it didn't help to warn folks but what the heck, nothing
ventured, nothing gained.
Dear Oregon Agricultural Producers:
Do not be fooled into thinking you can control what is declared
"Invasive"
once the Federal government or your State government pass Invasive Species
legislation. Once the responsibility for "Invasive Species"
control or
management or eradication or whatever is placed in the hands of government
bureaucrats you will have ceded power over nearly everything you do
(regardless of the nature or origin of your crop) to government and those
that influence it.
The definitions in regulations will be written by bureaucrats to be enforced
and to include as much as possible to start. Environmental activists will
go to court and have judges expand those definitions.
"Bureaucrat-experts"
will be radicals that generally will be the ones to get grants or those
intent on controlling land use and human activities of every imaginable
stripe. Hidden agendas from eliminating hunting and fishing to closing and
acquiring more public lands will emerge alongside finding bonanzas for
arcane studies and formerly unnoticed professors to document why your
business or activity should be eliminated or at the very least controlled.
Yes your agricultural practices will, like ranchers and wolves or owls and
loggers, become entwined with both those that want you out of business and
those who simply want to control you for their own purposes.
"But" you say, we will "define it in the law." Lots of
luck. The
Endangered SPECIES Act exploded into listing subspecies and races and
populations and population segments and even distinct population segments.
Species with millions of members around the world (wolves) are called
"Endangered". The Marine Mammal Protection Act (passed in 1972)
promised to
return management to the States when Optimum Sustainable Populations were
achieved. Today with manatees everywhere they can be, and seals decimating
salmon, and sea otters providing food for overabundant killer whales,
Federal control has not and never will be relinquished. Dog owners and
breeders thought "animal welfare" sounded like a good idea because
they
"loved" their animals and today the Animal Welfare Act slowly eats
them like
a boa constrictor. Public land users thought it would be nice to have some
"natural areas" (i.e. Wilderness). Ask rural communities and
firefighters
and guys that USED TO hunt and fish in backcountry that no longer even has
game what they think today.
"Our law will only consider Invasive Species that cause economic or
environmental harm" you say. Well I will just put on my environmental
lawyer
hat and go into court. "Your Honor, the dictionary defines 'invasive'
as
involving invasion or intrusion or entry from outside. This means all
plant
and animal species that came in from the outside. This means those plants
and animals that are not native to Oregon (or the US or the West Coast or
mountain valleys, etc.). Clearly, since the Congress (or State Legislature)
mentioned kudzu and snakehead fish when discussing this legislation, they
intended to cover all invasive species present then and in the future.
Since the United States was established in 1787, species occurring here
before that date should be considered "native" and those that arrived
later
(by whatever means or for whatever purposes are Invasive Species). As to
the economic harm from (fill-in-the-blank) we have here professor Beers the
State University expert on White Spruce trees who will testify that (Norway
Spruce or Scotch Pine or fill-in-the-blank) are crowding out the native
White Spruce and that pollination of (fill-in-the-blank) is discouraging
eco-tourism and thereby costing the State millions of dollars. As to
environmental harm, I have here professor Snodgrass from the State
University Biology Department who will testify to the disastrous effects of
brown trout and rainbow trout on salamanders and frogs in our streams and
how this is spreading invasive plants along the streams that are in turn
causing tumors in native bird species. Your Honor we (the Pure Environment
Fund) request that immediate action be ordered by (fill in your favorite
agency) to eradicate Norway Spruce trees, rainbow trout, brown trout and
Scotch Pine. We request that your finding be delayed until we present our
four other motions to eradicate certain berry production facilities, 29 tree
farms, 47 landscape production facilities, and 19 agricultural plants that
are causing irreparable harm to the economy and environment of our precious
ecosystem. In the meantime we ask for an injunction against all fishing
(it
is spreading diseases from invasive fish) and all hunting because the
hunters and their dogs are spreading seeds and various invertebrate species
for which there has been no EIS or research done to prove that they are not
spreading dangerous and harmful invasive species beyond their already wide
ranges. Your Honor we have much work to do and there is little time before
it will be too late."
Yes, all you have to do is word the law carefully and trust the bureaucrats
and their environmental partners and the politicians and oh yes, the judges.
Now who could worry with a deal like that?
Yours truly,
Jim Beers
28 June 2005
If you found this worthwhile, please share it with others. Thanks.
This article and other recent articles by Jim Beers can be found at
http://www.allianceforamerica.org/bb/viewforum.php?f=91
Jim Beers is available for consulting or to speak. Contact:
JimBeers7@earthlink.net