 have just finished reading an incredible
novel by Sherri Tepper. Family Tree begins when a weed refuses to retreat
from a perfectly manicured lawn. Let's just say that this is the beginning
of people looking at plants in a whole new way. If Oprah can have a book
club, I figure I can recommend a book every now and then. I love books that
wrap fiction around philosophy, and this one is as clever as it is prophetic.
Do yourself a favor and pick this one up.
 Recently, I have been accused of
being incoherent because my columns lack "practical solutions."
Looking in Webster's New World Dictionary, I sought the definition for the
word practical: "that can be used; workable; useful and sensible."
Fair enough, I accept the request from my readers to start including workable
solutions to the grave injustices I am constantly pointing out. So now when
I say "I told you so" to our elected officials, I can mean it
on several levels.
Native plants and animals are something
that I have always championed out of a sense of respect and duty. Mixed
up in the equation is a great deal of guilt. Yes ladies and gentlemen, I
am one of those people who sees "weeding" as your basic form of
genocide. Huh? That's right folks, this is about selectively killing life-forms
that don't match some human ideal.
Time for a dictionary. Turning to
The Dictionary Of Ecology and Environmental Science for clarification, I
find "weed: Any plant growing where it is not wanted, usually a wild
plant that grows without much care or cultivation and may be invasive in
cultivated areas." Webster adds "something useless."
My next question is, useless to who?
Native plants have evolved to their environment over the past, say, million
years, and native animals have evolve alongside them. Together, they have
formed a biotic community depending on their interwoven relationships for
survival. Now don't get me wrong, I realize that man has been a part of
this biotic community for a very long time. The only difference is that
the recent crop of humans have decided that their wants and desires come
first.
Please note that I did not say needs.
As history has shown, need and want are often confused, to the detriment
of those making the choices. Cultivation replaced wilderness and sage scrub
became lawns. Biodiversity is now threatened on a global scale. This shouldn't
surprise you. The precedent was set when European culture decided the New
World needed to be civilized though exploitation. From the beginning, settlers
felt the need to cut a place for themselves out of the wilderness. Slashing
and burning, God fearing Christians pushed the forest back until it was
gone. Then they replanted it more to their liking. America was born. Like
the indigenous people of the continent, native plants would be replaced
with more practical species. Order was restored. Moving west, people decided
to recreate their version of the east, and once again native plants were
replaced. That brings us to the present where indigenous species are on
the Endangered Species list, and non-natives are not.
A case in point is the plan for the
new Encinitas Country Day School, proposed for land adjacent to San Elijo
Lagoon. While attending the meeting of the Encinitas Planning commission,
I had a chance to review the landscaping design for the project. Oh sure,
there were the token native trees. But they were vastly outnumbered by ornamentals.
After the Planning Commission approved
the project, I approached the landscape architect. When I asked him had
they considered planting only indigenous plants, he said "No."
When I asked why not, he replied, "Natives don't do everything you
want them to do."
Utility before balance is not a lesson
we should be teaching the children of coastal North County.
It's time we realize that nature
exists for purposes other than human comfort and convenience. On the list
of plants proposed is iceplant. This invasive plant is currently being removed
from lagoons elsewhere along the coast. For every non-native species that
is planted a local alternative that is not only drought resistance but also
provides for the needs of native animals is available.
To remedy the current imbalance,
I suggest that policy be put in place to require all new landscaping and
plantings be restricted to indigenous species. Further, as non-natives need
to be replaced it should be with plants native to the habitat in which they
are planted. This is a win/win situation that will also save money while
conserving water.
On October 10th, the Cottonwood Creek
Conservancy is hosting an effort to restore the creek to a more natural
state. Not an easy job. For the next 3 months, every other Saturday will
be dedicated to the removal of exotics. For Christmas, the conservancy is
giving the creek an iceplant removal. I plan to help how about you?  | 
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