> Somehow I miss the point of restricting movement of an endangered
> plant outside of its native habitat.
In case anyone does not know, it is a desperation measure used when
restricting movement in the native habitat is not saving the plant. It is
easy to smuggle natives out of one country. Customers are more rare if
it is illegal to receive the plant in any other country also. Hungry
customers in far away lands have caused many critters to be extirpated
from their native habitat.
It is a rare case where a healthy (long term) gene pool can be
conserved in a distant land for later reintroduction to the native habitat.
Even then, the habitat is likely to be altered while the native is missing
from the local web of life. Reintroduction may no longer be possible.
Keeping the plants alive elsewhere displaces some other native(s) and
does not seem likely to help the ecosystem the plant was a part of. I am
all for trying to keep endangered things alive anywhere. I just don't think
it is likely to fix the long term extinction problem very often.
I wish us all (humans and other critters) luck as I think we may already
need it for survival (in the long run), KellyO
Kelly O'Neill Wet Rock Gardens Flower Farm
U-Pick and more at the farm (open 9 to 6, Sun, Wed and Fri -
from March thru Halloween):
2877 N 19th Street
Springfield, Oregon 97477
To contact us: * Business Office for mail or by appointment only:
gardens@wetrock.com * 1950 Yolanda AVE
http://www.wetrock.com/ * Springfield, Oregon 97477
(541) 746-4444 *