[EMAIL PROTECTED] queried thusly: > I was somewhat surprised though that some people did not > seem to see a relation between forests and orchids.
Sometimes it's tough to, er, see the forest for the trees. This is why one never fully appreciates toilet paper until it has run out. > Are there any endangered orchid species in the area > (western states) where the decision will apply ? Well, yes- but few of these have sufficiently small ranges that they are affected. In other words, orchids like Spiranthes diluvialis (an Endangered Species Act orchid) is endangered as a function of very low numbers, but it is known from several states. Spiranthes delitescens, which is in a much more precarious position, is known from only four sites, but it would be a dramatic event for these four sites to be wiped out simultaneously. Moreover, the fact that these species are listed on the ESA means that, even with the logging rules getting shuffled around, they are still afforded protection. So, in the strictest sense, federally- and state-protected species are covered under law on public lands, and (to a lesser degree) on private land (which the rules wouldn't affect anyway). As an aside, climate change probably presents a much graver concern for many of these species. Two of the S. delitescens sites haven't flowered in years, and appear (to my modestly trained eye) to be getting drier. Ron Coleman (author of Wild Orchids of Arizona and New Mexico, and Wild Orchids of California) has noted the impact of severe fires over the past couple of years- a function of forests congested with decades of detritus and neglect, burning down to bare mineral soil. None of which is to say we have nothing to be concerned about with regards to bulldozers, of course, but the continuing drought in the SW shows no signs of abatement. > Are local orchid societies (in the western states) > concerned about the decision ? Not so much. With a few glorious exceptions (Epipactis gigantea), western American orchids are not known in cultivation, and even those few exceptions are not grown by many. There are certainly individuals who are concerned about these species, and naturalists and orchidists alike follow these situations with care and thought- although not much can be done. Indeed, there would be little that *could* be done. I'd wager a 5-spot that the amount of paperwork to move a colony of orchids slated to become mud under the treads of a D6G bulldozer would outweigh the bulldozer. By the time the paperwork was done with, the plants would be gone. > Has the American Orchid Society taken a stand about the > decision ? Not that I've heard of. -AJHicks Chandler, AZ _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://lists.orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids
