"Some orchid growers have long advocated collecting species from the wild and breeding them in greenhouses as the only hope of saving them, a position at odds with many environmental groups' fight to preserve broader natural systems.
''We all feel strongly that if we're artificially propagating the plant it takes pressure off the wild,'' said Marv Ragan, a grower from Orange Park, Fla.... ``You're not going to keep people from wanting something, but you can make it easier to get it the right way.'' Isaias Rolando... said the goal of Peru's conservation program isn't to turn a profit but to preserve Peru's forests and protect two isolated wild orchid populations [of Phragmipeium kovachii] that have since been discovered but not yet exploited. ''The main profit is already out of the country,'' Rolando said. ``There is a big black market, and it does not belong to any Peruvians. I know who they are but I cannot say.'' [Can you ?] URL : http://www.miamiherald.com/news/miami_dade/story/389808.html ************* Regards, VB _______________________________________________ the OrchidGuide Digest (OGD) [email protected] http://orchidguide.com/mailman/listinfo/orchids_orchidguide.com
