From a news story published in the Star Tribune, Minneapolis (US) :
"Nelson ... known to many as the orchid rescuer...
"I've got a nursery that wants some of these," he crows, then grabs a
shovel and sets to work. ...
search every foot of the 5-mile stretch of an Aitkin County road that's
slated for regrading.
Thousands of plants will be destroyed by this project, but he's focusing on
the fraction that would be worthwhile to dig and sell...
The prize would be a native Minnesota orchid; a showy, a pink or a yellow
lady's slipper...
Most summers for the past decade or so, Nelson has repeated this scene a
dozen times a day, a couple of days a week. As Minnesota's only certified
commercial plant rescuer currently harvesting plants, he has crisscrossed
the state, scanning the ditches of soon-to-be improved county roads looking
for salvageable woodland and wetland plants.
In doing so, he's logged thousands of miles, saved tens of thousands of
plants (his estimate) and made enough money to do what he loves for a living...
the business, Woods' End Rescue... hope to build their stock, develop a
larger network of nurseries to wholesale to and beef up their Internet
retail sales. Already they have established a website
(www.woodsendrescue.com), taken out ads in specialty publications and
started Nelson on the plant lecture circuit.
But as Nelson's reach and reputation have spread, he's learned that being a
plant rescuer means different things to different people. Among the handful
of nurseries that buy from him (including Orchids Ltd. in Plymouth...
he's known as a reputable supplier. But among native plant purists, some of
whom believe collecting plants from the wild is unethical and encourages
poaching, he's viewed as a renegade...
He's depicted as a hero of sorts in Eric Hansen's book, "Orchid Fever,"
which devotes an entire chapter to him...
"People know him as the orchid rescuer,"...
Neither the praise nor the criticism seems to faze Nelson. He just wants to
do his job, a job that by now has become second nature. Whenever he's
riding in a car, whenever he's in the country, he keeps his eyes on the
ditch...
On the surface, what Woods' End Rescue is doing seems simple: Find plants,
get permission, dig plants, sell plants...
Often, Nelson doesn't learn about a project until the bulldozers have done
their damage. It can be difficult to find the landowners, let alone get
permission from them to dig...
when he sells regulated plants (such as lady's slippers... Nelson is
required by state law to grow them for a year, which he does in Woods' End
Rescue's Northfield nursery. The nursery also must be inspected yearly by
the Minnesota Department of Agriculture...
Nelson has a good handle on woodland plants, especially the lady's
slippers, but the former high school science teacher doesn't pretend to
know it all...
he knows ... which plants are difficult for nurseries to propagate, which
plants can best be dug from the wild and when, and the market value of a
given plant, from a $50 lady's slipper to a $15 fern...
Nelson, a committed conservationist, loves the woods... he takes only those
that have a good chance of selling...
"I'm not saving this environment. The environment is being destroyed..."
source :
http://www.startribune.com/stories/418/5525283.html
http://www.startribune.com/stories/418/5525283-2.html
see men at work :
http://www.startribune.com/stonline/images/news1/30orch27.l.jpg
**********
Regards,
Viateur
_______________________________________________
the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD)
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