Uncle Sam is a symbol of the constant vigilance and willingness to fight we
must never forget about if we are to preserve the freedoms we so cherish.
The most recent domestic danger to our American way of life is the latest
power-grab concoction of the environmentalists, bureaucrats, and biology
professors; they call it Invasive Species. This mishmash of
pseudo-science
masquerading as reality is intended to place more (if not most of the
remaining) state Constitutional authority over plants and animals in the
hands of Federal bureaucrats. They have been trying to do this for
several
years now. There are several bills and proposed bills before Congress
and
in Congressional drawers that intend to grant the Federal government
increased authority over the majority of plants and animals remaining under
state jurisdiction.
The Federal government has assumed former state jurisdiction over migratory
birds, endangered species, animal welfare, and certain marine mammals over the
past 80 years. The Federal government today regulates most aspects of
these aforementioned plants and animals in our daily lives. The
Constitutional mandates that limited the Federal government to controlling
importation of and interstate commerce in plants and animals have been
expanded to thousands of times the authorities originally intended under our
Constitution. The most recent planned expansion is to grant the Federal
government authority over all Invasive Species (a term that can be interpreted
so broadly that most plants and animals remaining under state authority can be
declared under the primary authority of Federal agencies.)
This Invasive business began 20 years ago when the environmentalists,
Federal bureaucrats, and University professors saw what a success they were
having with declaring endangered species, marine mammals, migratory birds, and
animal welfare as strictly Federal responsibilities. The success for
environmentalists was enacting their radical agendas to stop the use and
enjoyment of all natural resources and domestic plants and animals. The
success for the bureaucrats was greater budgets, more authority, higher
salaries, and larger retirements. The professors saw vastly increased
grants, larger staffs, increased tenure potentials, and prestige and publicity
for themselves and their pursuits. Additionally, Federal
politicians reaped a bonus of votes every voting cycle from voters who weren't
directly affected by the latest loss of property or freedoms and who
thought it all sounded like a good idea. Today, overrated tales of
"Invasive" plants and animals are cleverly interwoven with nonsense
about
how "right" or "proper" the plants and animals of 1492 or
1776 or 1900 were
for a nation today that differs from those dates like our Constitution
differs from a Roman Emperors notion of the value of all members of their
barbaric society. You are expected to cheer (with your pocketbook and
your
vote) when the Federal government offers to make war on "Invasives"
and
"save" "Native Ecosystems" or "Pre-Columbian
Ecosystems" or "Keystone
Species" or "Indicator Species" or "Species of
Concern" or any of a number
of such terms of budget art intended to grow Federal authority.
It all started 20 years ago on Federal properties. No longer would the
agencies or politicians running for reelection recognize that National
Forests were purchased for recreation or logging or grazing. Similarly
National Wildlife refuges were being redescribed not as place to raise, feed
' or winter waterfowl but rather as "Pre-Columbian Ecosystems."
National
Parks and the BLM also further restricted their lands to stop uses by people
and limit access through entrance fees and road closures. Budget and
personnel and grant increases were almost always a sure thing as these
"new" needs were used to request Federal budget increases.
Having been
spectacularly successful to date, the next step is telling anyone who
receives any Federal money that they should get rid on any Non-Native (i.e.
Invasive) species and work to restore "Native Species." Never mind
that it
is an impossible task and that 100 times the bureaucrats and budget dollars
we spend today could work for 100 years and still not make a dent in the
Non-native species. Never mind that most such species have many
"good"
traits as well as "bad." Never mind that nearly all the few
truly "bad"
ones can be controlled or eradicated under present laws (but not present
herbicide and pesticide regulations.) That however is what makes the whole
Invasive Species scam a bureaucrats dream.
Invasive is a slippery term. It can mean something not "here"
(state,
county, Rockies, plains, coast, sand dunes, etc.) in 1492 or 1776 or 1900 or
whenever. It can mean the brown trout brought from Europe for fishing or
the turkey introduced by the state fish and wildlife agency in 1978. It
can
mean the exotic wildlife from Africa enclosed on a Texas ranch or Charlie
that golden retriever in your backyard. It can be a salt-cedar tree
preferred as a nest site for endangered flycatcher birds or a Lombardy
poplar planted as a windbreak in arid soils where other trees won't grow.
It can be the striped bass transplanted from the Atlantic coast to
California waters or the zebra mussels that clarified Lake Erie's waters and
helped recover a valuable sport and commercial fishery. Think of the
power
this term will give the environmental groups that have ravaged the nation so
badly thus far. Think of what bureaucrats think about as they tout this
dream that can make them salivate. Think of the politician telling you
he
or she "saved" this or that until they start taking your dog or
doing away
with your fishing (when they become quiet.) Think of the professors
speaking in ponderous tones before Congressional Committees or a Judge about
the "dangers" of water lilies in waterways to baby fish or female
painted turtles. I can't write anymore here. It gets too depressing.
So, what can you do TO FIGHT INVASIVE SPECIES? Tell whoever uses that
term that you believe in controlling or eradicating HARMFUL SPECIES.
Tell them that we should use pesticides and herbicides whenever a Harmful
Plant threatens. What is harmful? Why anything that threatens the
economic or human health interests of a community or state (the government
levels
responsible for everything except the importation and interstate commerce of
plants and animals.)
When someone tells you we "need" to protect "Native
Species" or "Native
Ecosystems," tell them you believe in protecting and conserving
BENEFICIAL SPECIES and "BENEFICIAL ECOSYSTEMS". Tell them
Beneficial plants and animals either do not threaten economic or human health
interests of communities or states or they contribute good and favorable
things to families, communities and states. When these three things are
healthy, the United States of America is healthy.
If they ask, "what about 'environmental' harm," tell them that much
of that
lies in the eye of the beholder and we need to be very careful about
describing something as harmful when the result of it's presence in the
environment benefits some things while harming others. Always insist
that
the Federal government get no more authority in this area. They should
limit themselves to their Constitutional role and control imports and
interstate commerce. Anything else should remain under state authority
and
be cooperative under state leadership for plants and animals in each state.
So head on down and ENLIST! We need you to call or write politicians
trying to get on the Invasive Species bandwagon. We need you to build
fires under Governors and state legislators to stand up for the rights and
responsibilities they continue to fork over to Federal bureaucracies. We
need you to tell neighbors, friends, co-workers, and family about what is
happening. We need you to call your school and your school board when
Invasive Species propaganda is spouted in the schools. Most of all we
need YOU to understand what is happening and do what you can to work to save
the most successful freedom-preserving government in the history of man.
If you can't do it, either state governments will whither from our scene or
we will have to try and hire foreign contractors to do it and we all know
what happened to Rome when they tried that.
Jim Beers
26 April 2004