Out here in the mild west we have similar problems, mostly with plants.
Salt Cedar (Tamarisk species) are a scourge along riparian areas, and they have
crowded out mot of the native species, in some places forming a monoculture.
Years ago, Wyoming introduced the Tamarisk Leaf Beetle, which eats nothing
but Salt Cedar. Other states have done so, except for Arizona. The Sierra
Club along with an obnoxious associate professor at ASU, lobby to keep it out
as it provides nesting for a certain bird. Never mind that the bird used to
nest in Willow, Sycamore, and Cottonwood thickets before the Salt Cedar
displaced them.
The Tamarisk Leaf Beetle has entered the Grand Canyon and is making its
way downstream, but it does not seem to like our high summer temperatures.
However, there is a subspecies released in Texas a few years ago that is making
its way here, and it doesn't mind the heat. It will probably come down the
Gila River from New Mexico and then gorge itself on the dense thickets all the
way to the Gulf of California.
Then the Sierra Club can roll up its collective sleeves and plant Willow,
Sycamore, and Cottonwood deep pot nursery stock to restore the riparian
habitats that they worked so hard to destroy.
Before anyone gets on my case about what I've said about the Sierra Club,
I used to be an elected member of the state-level Excom. It was there that I
discovered what they were doing with their money, memberships, and issues such
as Salt Cedar. I left that outfit many years ago because of what I saw.
>
> Classic case of an invasive species exploding in a new area that lacks
>their natural predators. Though native to South America, Fire Ants are not
>very common there as they are parasitized by a dozen species of Phorid Fly.
>Texas has taken the plunge and introduced the fly to their state. I wish
>they would hurry up and get here to SC.
>
Chris
When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro
- Hunter S. Thompson
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