J. L. HUDSON, SEEDSMAN, BOX 337, LA HONDA, CALIFORNIA 94020-0337 USA
NATIVES Vs. EXOTICS: THE MYTH OF THE MENACE
Non-Native Species as Allies of Diversity
There is an idea, popular in some circles, that 'non-native' species are
somehow harmful, that 'aggressive exotics' can invade ecosystems and destroy 'native species'. It
surprises me to see the public and biologists alike uncritically accept this absurd notion.
"But the Emperor has no clothes!"—Folktale.
In this spirit I would like to point out that there is absolutely no biological validity to the
concepts of 'native' and 'exotic' species, nor is there evidence that man's introduction of species
into new habitats has any negative impact on global biological diversity. On the contrary, the aid
we have given species in their movement around the world has served to increase both global and
local diversity. It is one of the few human activities which is beneficial to the non-human
creation. It cannot be distinguished from the movement of species by wind or ocean currents, or the
aid other species give to their fellows, such as the distribution of seeds by migrating birds.
"All living beings have the right to engage in the struggle for existence."—L. H.
Bailey.
There are no adequate definitions of 'native' and 'exotic', since there has been constant movement
of species since the beginning of life. Witness the migration of species across the Bering Straits
and the Isthmus of Panama. Great exchange of species has occurred between both oceanic and
continental biota in these areas as they have been repeatedly submerged and exposed, alternately
being corridors for aquatic and terrestrial life. In response to the Ice Ages, great movement of
species has occurred. Even now, I understand that the armadillo is extending his range north from
his native México. Is he an exotic invader? If we naturalize elephants in the tropical Americas,
will they be exotics, or will this simply be the return of the Proboscidea to their
pre-glacial range?
Apparent cases of destructive invasion by 'exotics' are usually examples of the beginning of an
outbreak-crash population sequence occurring as a species moves into the niche provided by a heavily
man-disturbed habitat, to be followed by the inevitable crash and subsequent adaptation and
integration of the 'exotic' into the local ecosystem.
Intact ecosystems are highly resistant to invasion, and there are also many cases of 'exotics'
acting as nurse-plants and revegetators, helping the native ecosystem to reclaim its man-destroyed
habitat. I have seen a grassy meadow and a field of star thistles side by side, with only barbed
wire separating them. The fence can't stop the thistle seed, yet it does not invade the intact
meadow, showing the thistle to be an antibody-like response of the prairie ecosystem to overgrazing
by cattle.
New species create niches for more species, further increasing potential diversity. Many species are
extinct in their original habitat, existing only where they have been introduced to new areas by
man. We are changing the world through our destruction, pollution, and now possible climate change.
Local ecosystems need the infusion of new species to help their adaptation to a changed environment.
"You stay, I go."—Ishi, last of the Yana.
It is ironic to me to hear people of European ancestry accuse other organisms of being 'invasive
exotics, displacing native species'.
Even the wildest unfounded claims of invasion by 'exotics' pale in comparison to the land area
occupied by technological man's monoculture crops. These crop-deserts and modern man's extractive
land-domination economy are the threat to biodiversity, not 'escaped exotics'.
There are documented cases in which attempts to exterminate 'exotics' have in fact pushed native
species to the brink of extinction!
Attempts to eradicate so-called non-native species are impossible, absurd, and destructive to the
very habitats they hope to preserve. As an alternative, I propose: The protection of all intact
ecosystems from human destruction, and the deliberate introduction of species into the areas we have
already damaged. Introduction priorities should be based on phylogenetic relationships -
non-represented groups and taxa of restricted distribution should be given priority. Threatened and
endangered species should be given full protection and introduced into new habitats whenever
possible.
"Migrants of ape in gasoline crack of history."—William Burroughs.
We have only a brief moment in history when fossil fuels will continue to allow us rapid worldwide
travel. Let us use this time wisely, to the benefit of all species.—J.L.H.
and S.L.C., 11/89.
Natives vs. Exotics Update, November 1994.
The 'anti-exotics' movement is a growing threat to biodiversity conservation efforts. In the
past 10 years, the mythology of 'invasive non-native species' has spread from a minor pseudoscience
indulged in by the gullible fringe, to a growing extremist movement uncritically embraced by
otherwise responsible environmental groups.
Our natural areas, from bio-preserves to National Parks are daily attacked by these extremists,
using herbicide, chainsaws and bulldozers. Dozens of native plants have been falsely labeled
invaders and are being exterminated. The process is driven in part by hysteria, and in part by
greed- tremendous sums of money are being made on these extermination projects. For example,
Monsanto, a major herbicide manufacturer was a sponsor of the 1994 California Exotic Pest Plant
Council meeting, has an employee on the Council's board of directors, and was hawking their
herbicides at a prominent booth. During breaks there was open discussion of ways to circumvent
environmental laws restricting herbicide use in sensitive natural areas.
'Exotic Pest Plant Councils' are cropping up around the country, promoting heavy use of herbicides
in our parks, and lobbying for extremist legislation, including a federal law which will prohibit
any movement of any species unless the government determines it will 'cause no harm'. Only
species on so called 'clean lists' will be allowed to be distributed or
imported. Any species not on the 'clean list' will require expensive testing and approval before
distribution. This is the final thrust towards the total corporate control of biodiversity- only
they will be able to afford testing.
This will eliminate our single most effective biodiversity preservation strategy. The only
effective long-term method of preserving biodiversity is the naturalization of species in new
regions, where they may thrive and spread without human protection. While bio-preserves, parks,
botanic gardens and zoos are important and needed, these are only temporary measures- what park will
be able to withstand the future's starving billions?
Two forces are causing rapid destructive change- the rapid increase in human population, and the
rapid spread of technological/industrial society. These forces are working together to cause a
worldwide biological holocaust similar to past extinction events. The techno/industrial society
expands, destroying indigenous, biologically-derived human cultures, replacing them with a
homogenous, machine-derived pseudoculture of production and consumption. A vicious circle is created
when the survival drives of an ever-expanding population force humanity to adopt the short-term
resource extractive methods and values of the techno/industrial pseudoculture. Although
theoretically, simple methods exist for opening this circle and exiting with minimal human and
biological suffering, this is likely precluded by our biological imperatives, as well as the
overpowering machine-imperatives of industrial consumption. Whether this vicious circle will reach
critical mass and crash in a single, precipitous de-populating, de-industrializing event, or will
unravel in a series of stepwise crashes over the next thousand years or so is anyone's guess.
However, it seems likely that high rates of extinction will prevail over the next 1000 to 10,000
years or so.
It has been demonstrated that the human transport of organisms may establish new populations of
species in safe refuges, preventing extinction and increasing local biodiversity. In the short
term, this directly protects the naturalized species from extinction in its homeland, and the
enriched diversity provides a buffer against the effects of human-induced extinctions on the local
ecosystem, increasing its resiliency, helping its adaptation to change and promoting the healing of
damaged areas. In the long term, this promotes evolutionary processes, since the interaction among
unlike organisms is a powerful driving force of evolution. The diversifying evolutionary cascades
which will result offer the chance that our species will leave the world with the potential for
increased diversity, somewhat offsetting our current shameful irresponsibility.
Knowingly or unknowingly, gardeners participate in this process. Through their lifeways, all
organisms modify their environment and participate in the creation of the landscapes in which they
live. Corals build reefs, plants create soil, and animals transport seeds and nutrients long
distances. Part of the lifeways of bluejays and squirrels is to plant acorns far from the oak,
helping the forest migrate or heal burned or cleared areas. Our own lifeways of traveling about and
admiring beauty cause us to gather useful and beautiful plants to grow around our homes, initiating
the process of diversification. Many primates are key seed dispersal vectors in tropical ecosystems,
and this is part of our evolutionary heritage.
The reintroduction of diminished or exterminated species is diversity restoration, restoration
gardening or restoration ecology. We call the introduction of endangered species 'rescue gardening'
or 'rescue ecology'. The study of the diversity-enhancing introduction of new species we call 'enrichment
ecology'; the practice, 'ecological enrichment'.—J.L.H., 11/94.
Natives vs. Exotics Update, November 1995.
The extremist anti-exotic movement continues to grow. At the 1995 meeting of the California
Exotic Pest Plant Council, an agreement was reached among existing state Councils to create a
national umbrella Council to push their herbicide agenda nationwide. These Pest Plant Councils are
merely front-groups for the multi-billion dollar herbicide industry; they are funded by, and have
internal connections with Monsanto and other herbicide manufacturers. Like other
pseudo-environmental front groups, they push destructive corporate interests in the guise of
ecological concern.
The USDA is undergoing a major, cost-cutting downsizing, with the closure of many offices and loss
of many jobs. Perhaps in a effort to head off future budget-cuts, they are joining forces with the
anti-exotics movement, calling for sweeping new powers and regulations. Randy Westbrooks, USDA,
APHIS, addressed the meeting, calling for passage of the 'clean list'
law, which will prevent all new importations, and even interstate movement of plants and
animals without expensive testing. Under the guise of a 'Plant Protection Act' Westbrooks said the
new testing would be similar to the 30 to 40 million dollar safety testing needed to market a
new toxic chemical. The New York City-based Natural Resources Defense Council supports this; their
attorney, Faith Campbell has been propagandizing for such a law for several years. This clearly mis-named
organization has also been accused of working with Conoco to open up indigenous Amazonian Huaorani
territory to oil development.
This agenda turns environmentalism on its head; it is the direct opposite of everything we
environmentalists stand for. Imagine a nation in which this industry-backed program is successful-
the wholesale poisoning of our natural areas by ecosystem-destroying chemicals will be mandatory
government policy profiting corporate giants, yet wild plants and animals, the very
components of the natural world and basis of all biological diversity will require multi-million
dollar testing for "safety"!
Also ominous is the fact that during Adolf Hitler's 'Third Reich', the National Socialists (Nazi
Party) had an identical program to rid the landscape of 'foreign' plants. An interesting paper,
"Some Notes on the Mania for Native Plants in Germany", by Gert Groening and Joachim
Wolschke-Bulmahn (Landscape Journal, Vol. II, No. 2, 1992) details this history. The extension of
the Nazi pseudoscience of racial purity to the natural world is chillingly identical to the modern
anti-exotics agenda, down to the details of 'genetic contamination'. With the current rise of
racism, immigrant-scapegoating, and other noxious, un-American ideologies, we must be prepared to
hold all those who are promoting the anti-exotics frenzy personally responsible for their part in
legitimizing a pseudoscience which leads directly to the horrors we saw in the 1940's. Clearly,
'eco-fascist' is not too strong a term to describe these people.
As I have stated before, the tenets of the anti-exotics movement are entirely without scientific
merit. All unbiased studies prove that man-aided migration of organisms increases biological
diversity, and these newcomers are frequently highly beneficial to local ecosystems. The
anti-exotics extremists disregard the mountains of research which refute their claims, and the most
fundamental questions that would be addressed by basic ecological research are discarded in favor of
a propagandistic presentation of anecdotal evidence.
The free movement of germplasm is essential to new-crops research; essential to the preservation of
the food and medicinal plant germplasm central to feeding an expanding human population,
and essential to the vital preservation strategies of ecological restoration and biological enrichment.
To safeguard this free movement we must begin to educate the public concerning the pseudoscientific
foundations of the anti-exotics movement, their bureaucratic and herbicide industry connections,
their origins in an ideology of race-hatred, and their agenda of total control. We must form
watchdog groups to monitor the Exotic Pest Plant Councils, and educate lawmakers and environmental
organizations who may be misled by extremists. These groups could mobilize opposition to legislation
and perhaps begin boycotts against environmental organizations which support these bad laws. I
cannot organize these groups myself, but if you are interested, send your name and address, and I'll
begin to build a list of names to be shared among those listed. For biologists, we need to establish
a Society for Enrichment Biology, and publish a peer-reviewed Journal of Enrichment Ecology, for
research papers pertaining to this new field. Interested biologists should contact me.
It goes without saying that native plants and animals deserve our protection. We should be prepared
to defend our natural areas with our very lives if necessary.
I have devoted my life to the protection of the natural world. I will stand second to no one in my
love and respect for all living beings. I encourage all people to dedicate themselves to the study
of, the appreciation of, the love of, and the protection of the living beings that surround us.—J.L.H.,
12/95.
Natives vs. Exotics Update, November 1997.
We are seeing greater use of prison labor in anti-exotics extermination projects. It is becoming
quite popular to use these unpaid, predominantly minority prison work-gangs as slave-labor to do the
hard physical work of extermination. I have also found modern anti-exotics writers (The Garden
Philosopher, C. Goethe) who are explicitly racist, likening 'weeds' to 'inferior races' and
vice-versa. Active work towards banning importations continues. This is not going to go away- if you
don't want to be limited to the plants sold at the local Price-Mart, you will have to take action.
Letters to the editor in response to newspaper and magazine articles may be effective. Point out the
biological invalidity of the anti-exotics stance, their funding by the herbicide industry, its
origin in Hitler's Zentralstelle fuer Vegetationskartierung des Deutschen Reiches and the
Reichskomissar fuer die Festigung deutschen Volkstums, and its ongoing connection to ideologies of
race-hatred.—J.L.H., 11/97.
Natives vs. Exotics Update, November 1998.
Herbicide manufacturers American Cyanamid, DowElanco, Zeneca, SePro and others have joined
Monsanto in supporting the exotic extremists.
The scientific information-pool is being deeply contaminated by articles by researchers with an
economic interest in promoting weed extermination. A new tactic is to make spurious claims that
native species with expanding populations are in fact 'nonlocal ecotypes', ignoring the human
disturbance causing the population shift (the atmospheric deposition of nitrogen from air pollution,
for example).
As constructed, alien-invader theory is founded on non-operational constructs, is immune to testing,
cannot be falsified, and has no predictive capacity. Its structure and conceptual elements are
identical in all particulars with those of racism, fascistic nationalism, and other conspiracy
theories. Instantly recognizable is the "ultimate attribution error" of Pettigrew's
cognitive analysis of prejudice. Circular reasoning, low standards of evidence, self-sealing
arguments, unsupported causal attribution and resistance to contradictory evidence are frequent.
Changed conditions change community composition and structure.—J.L.H., 11/98.
AFTERWORD
These little essays were written years ago - I present them here because they
include many of the first published refutations of the flaws of invasion biology and its defective
conceptual structure. I am glad to claim priority of publication of many of these points - they
appeared in my catalog long before others made the same points elsewhere. My views have changed a
little over
the years, as my knowledge and thinking on the subject has deepened, and in occasional details now
differ slightly from those presented here. But I stand by nearly all of the points made above, and
am heartened that, in recent years more scientists have recognized the validity of my claims, and
have begun to publish articles questioning the invasionist ideology. From the letters I have
received over the years, my little essays were apparently widely circulated among academics
(especially during the early 1990s), and apparently triggered some significant changes in thinking.
When my book "Invasion Biology: Critique of a
Pseudoscience" was published in 2003, it caused considerable controversy, but has
apparently prompted significant reexamination of invasionist ideology. There has since been some
significant retrenching on the part of invasion biologists, as they have scrambled to patch the
leaks in their field. For more information on this subject, please read my book.