Thank you for your recent coverage of the impacts and
politics of invasive species (HCN, 6/22/98). The spread and
establishment of exotics in the West is truly one of the least
recognized natural-resource challenges of our time and one which
promises to overwhelm the stability and health of our ecosystems if
left unchecked. To help put this in perspective, saltcedar, the
species upon which you provided so much information, is simply one
of dozens of invasive plant species that have invaded the native
plant communities of the West and the
continent.
While saltcedar may be largely
confined to riparian areas, other species such as cheatgrass and
Russian knapweed have dominated rangelands across the Intermountain
West. In fact, cheatgrass is now widely accepted to be the dominant
plant of the Intermountain West, covering more than 100 million
acres.
Exotic plant species such as saltcedar and
cheatgrass have dramatically altered the structure and composition
of native-plant communities, resulting in the extirpation of native
flora and fauna (in some cases, exotics threaten natives with
extinction). While exotics frequently exploit areas disturbed by
human activities, they are equally adept at invading the
best-managed lands and wilderness areas of the West. Areas once
thought to be “safe” from human influences have or are beginning to
deteriorate before our eyes as weeds replace native
vegetation.
Given the extraordinary negative
impacts of invasive species on native plant communities and the
fauna harbored therein, I am amazed and saddened by the obvious
lack of action from most of the environmental community, including
prominent national organizations.
Of all the
challenges that face the West, there are few that will require
greater cooperation to achieve success than the management of
invasive species. This challenge provides one of the best
opportunities for environmental organizations to build
relationships with extractive industries, agricultural interests
and others that rely upon our region’s natural resources. Without
the voice of environmentalists, the burgeoning populations across
the “new West” will wake one day to find a permanent loss of native
biodiversity, unhealthy ecosystems, lost agricultural productivity,
fewer recreational opportunities, and weakened local and state
economies.
Eric M.
Lane
Lakewood,
Colorado
The writer is
Colorado weed coordinator for the state’s Department of
Agriculture.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Yes, there’s an alien invasion.
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