[Tweeters] Invasive Species ...

[via Tweeters]

   Hmmm,

  I have to admit to being "conflicted and confused" about this topic ...

  Perhaps we are being a little too much like Playing God when we call  
something
"invasive"?  Is anyone calling the changes in normal/usual  
habitat/locations due to
a species moving to new territory "invasive"?  Do we have the  
obligation or right to
say one species is "sacred" and therefore needs to be preserved?  Yes,  
the Barred
Owls are pushing the Spotted Owls towards extinction.  Is that "our"  
problem?  Did
we cause it?  Knowingly?  Aren't we Playing God when we have a program to
Save the Salmon?  What about way back before humans even were on the Earth
and species moved into new territory - wasn't that "invasive"?

  Aren't there better ways to Play God?  Such as simply preserving old growth?
I can see from this chair multiple -large- areas on the mountains in Skagit
County that have been logged recently ... using clear cut.  (No, it wasn't old
growth - does that really matter?) 

  Isn't the root cause of all of this directly related to population  
growth?  We used
to hear about ZPG.  Why has that thought/goal died?  I see new land being 
converted from farm land or forest to housing - everywhere in Skagit County.
And Skagit County is one of the last places in Western Washington to become
over-populated.

  Do I want the Spotted Owl to survive?  Yes.  Definitely and Emphatically.
Am I convinced that shooting Barred Owls in "Prime Spotted Owl Habitat" is
the right solution?  Not entirely.  Is it the least expensive and easiest and
most successful?  Perhaps - but is it still "worth it"?
                                                                       
                     - Confused ... Jim
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