hoosier conservation: fall 2011

PresidentSteve Cecil

First Vice-PresidentGlenn Lange

Second Vice-PresidentDoug Allman

SecretaryShaena Reinhart

TreasurerAdam McLane

National Wildlife Federation Representative

Dr. Dave HoffmanImmediate Past President

Shaena ReinhartExecutive DirectorBarbara Simpson

EditorStephen Sellers

Graphic Design/LayoutJulie Kirkendoll

PrintingThe Papers, Incorporated

Milford, IndianaPlease address all advertising

and editorial inquires to: Editor

4715 W. 106th StreetZionsville, IN 46077

Phone: 317-875-9453Email: [email protected]

The Indiana Wildlife Federation is considered a non-profit organization by the

Internal Revenue Service

VOICE OF THE INDIANA WILDLIFE FEDERATIONHoosier Conservation (155N NO. 0199.6894) is published quarterly by Indiana Wildlife Federation, an independent statewide organization of affiliated conservation clubs and concerned citizens of Indiana. IWF is the Indiana affiliate of the National Wildlife Federations, and is incorporated under the laws of the State of Indiana as a non-profit corporation. Hoosier Conservation is a membership periodical available only to the various classes of IWF members and is not sold by subscription.Periodical Office: The Papers, P.O. Box 188, Milford, IN 46542. Periodical postage paid at Milford, IN.Editorial Office: Manuscripts, news releases, and cor-respondence directed specifically to the Editor should be addressed to: H.C. Editor, 4715 W. 106th Street, Zionsville, IN. Manuscripts, photographs, or artwork should be accompanied by self-addressed envelopes with return postage. However, Hoosier Conservation assumes no liability for the return of unsolicited materials. Material appearing in Hoosier Conservation may be reproduced with the appropriate credit lines unless designated a ©.Membership and Business Office: Correspondence about membership, delivery of Hoosier Conservation, or general business should be addressed to 4715 W. 106th Street, Zionsville, IN 46077.Postmaster: Send Form 3579 to Hoosier Conservation, 4715 W. 106th Street, Zionsville, IN 46077.

2 | Hoosier Conservation Meet us on the Internet

n By BarBara SimpSon

Are we good stewards of Indiana’s natural resources? If we are, what programs make a difference, and how are we pay-ing for them? Are we doing as well as we should do?

If we aren’t, what needs to be done to assure we use and enjoy our state’s natural resources in a way that protects and provides for the sustainability of Indiana’s natural resources for future generations?

These questions are in the process of being answered by the Sustainable Natural Resources Task Force.

The SNR Task Force was created by the Indiana General Assembly in the 2011 legislative session under Senate Bill 375, authored by Senator Phil Boots and Repre-sentative Tom Saunders.

The bill passed both the House and the Senate by large majorities and had broad support from conservation organizations throughout the state. Creation of this task force was one of the top five priorities for the Indiana Conservation Alliance, a partnership between dozens of organizations led in part by the Indiana Wildlife Federation.

The task force consists of 10 members: four legislators and six individuals repre-senting the Indiana Association of Soil and Water Conservation Districts, Indiana Land Protection Alliance, Indiana Farm Bureau, Indiana Forestry and Woodland Owners Association, The Nature Conservancy, and Indiana Wildlife Federation.

The SNR Task Force is charged to:Collect program and funding information on current natural resource protection

programs in Indiana.Perform a needs assessment concerning the natural resources programs in Indi-

ana, including current programs and associated costs.Collect information concerning the natural resource protection programs in

other states, particularly states bordering Indiana, and collect information on fund-ing and funding mechanisms for the programs.

The task force will report its findings and recommendations to the Natural Resources Study Committee by November 2012. At the direction of the study com-mittee the task force will conduct any needed follow-up analysis.

The final report, including findings, recommendations and a report card on the health of Indiana’s natural resources will be submitted to the General Assembly and the governor by January 1, 2013.

The SNR Task Force findings and recommendations will have far reaching impact on Indiana’s future.

I encourage you to learn more about the task force, the members and the meet-ing schedule by visiting www.indianawildlife.org/snrtf.htm. All meetings are open to the public, and I hope you will attend to show your support for protecting Indi-ana’s natural heritage for future generations.

Are we good stewards of Indiana’s natural resources?

On the cover: An immature bald eagle has a wonderful view of the White River in northern Marion County. Photo by Stephen Sellers.

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Hoosier Conservation | 3www.indianawildlife.org

In addition to contributions from individuals, clubs, and businesses, IWF depends on substantial grants from a va-riety of organizations. We couldn’t do our work without your generous support and the support of these fine organizations:

Huff Animal Protection TrustA generous, yearly supporter, the Huff

Animal Protection Trust funds our annual kids contest. For the past two years, we re-placed our photo and poster contest with an online quiz teaching children about wildlife and habitat basics. The quiz grew substantially in popularity since the first year, and we expect even more students to participate next spring.

National Wildlife FederationNWF passes through grants to support

advocacy on energy and Great Lakes is-sues. Funding from NWF is used to edu-cate people about the connection between energy issues and wildlife. Also, NWF helps us promote implementation of the Great Lakes Compact, an important

agreement between the Great Lakes states and provinces to ensure the future health of the critical natural resource.

Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust

Grants from NMPCT have funded the two-year phosphorus-free campaign. Support from NMCPT has allowed IWF to take the project in several different di-rections. One project reported in this issue of HC shows how IWF is working with faculty, staff and students at Indiana’s colleges and universities to incorporate wildlife friendly practices in their sustain-ability plans.

USDA NRCSThe Natural Resources Conserva-

tion Service is funding two outreach projects informing landowners about the advantages of wildlife friendly practices and how to enroll in NRCS incentives programs. With NRCS’s support, IWF is hosting several educational workshops in northwest and southern Indiana.

Making our work possible

Conservation in the Little Calumet-Galien watershed

This fall IWF is holding the first two workshops of a six-part series dedicated to informing landowners of the opportunities for improving their land.

IWF partners with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to bring landowners of north-west Indiana an educational program highlighting conservation programs and practices that can be utilized to help working lands reach their full potential, all while improving wildlife habitat and boosting water quality.

Wildlife biologists and other natu-ral resource professionals will discuss region-specific topics such as habitat in agricultural landscapes, manage-ment practices, invasive species, and landowner assistance resources.

The first workshop, on Aug. 24, featured talks from federal and state conservation officials on how to enroll in conservation incentive programs.

Our next event, on Nov. 5 at the Pinney-Purdue Ag Center near Wanatah, Ind, will take participants out into the field. Wildlife biologists and other natural resource profession-als will show examples of programs and practices landowners can use to improve their land and maximize its value to wildlife.

First-hand examples of resource concerns and suggested practices will be shown on an intensively-managed, working farm.

Watch for more workshop dates and information posted on www. indianawildlife.org. Please register on our homepage, or e-mail stoelting@ indianawildlife.org.

We look forward to seeing you there.

IWF’s Barbara Simpson and Marija Watson (back row) stop for a picture with the NMPCT board of trustees (L to R) Carol Peden Schilling, Frank E. Russell, and Nancy M. Russell at the grant presentation ceremony.


n By Gene HopkinS

The sporting community lost a great friend recently when Richard “Dick” Mer-cier, 85, lost his battle with cancer.

Dick was well known for his love of bird dogs, having raised and trained many champion dogs over the years. A very avid hunter and fisherman, Dick was at his best while in the fields and streams pursuing his quarry. Seeing Dick with his shotgun and bird dogs seemed as natural as anything God created – it was just meant to be.

My relationship with Dick began when I had the honor of working with him for several years during my tenure as President and then Legislative Chairman for the Indiana Bowhunters Association. I looked to Dick for sage advice, fully expecting him to tell me exactly what he thought and not what he thought that I wanted to hear.

It did not matter to Dick what the sub-ject was; in his mind there was always a path to finding the logic required to solve any dilemma.

Dick could be referred to accurately as a visionary. Dick recognized before most that threats to our outdoor heritage would be brought to our doorsteps in each and every legislative session. He knew that there will continue to be those who see our wild heritage as simply something to exploit for personal greed and that there will always be those that would not hesitate to sacrifice our grand-children’s right to enjoy outdoor sports for their short-sighted interests.

In short, Dick knew that the golden days afield could disappear within just a few years if we did not begin to work to preserve our heritage, so back in 1993 Dick was at the table when the Indiana Sportsman’s Roundtable was formed. And

for the next 17 years he continued to work actively through ISR as its President until stepping down in 2010.

Always giving his best, Dick worked as a tireless (and need I say unpaid) advocate for sportsmen and sporting causes in our state until the end of his life.

If you own a Senior Fishing License, thank Dick Mercier. If you have had the

pleasure of attending a hunter education class, thank Dick Mercier. If you enjoy hunting, fishing, or trapping on a private landowner’s plot of land, thank Dick Mercier for fighting to pass Land-owner Liability laws that protect landowners from frivolous lawsuits. He had a strong hand in all of these important pieces of legislation over the years.

Dick adapted through the years having recog-nized the need to ease the

path for new hunters to enter our sport, and he was instrumental in the passing of

Indiana’s apprentice hunting license just a couple of years ago.

The conservation communities were nearly unanimously appreciative of Dick’s achievements, having honored him with many well-deserved awards during his career. Among these awards were:

1995 - The ISR was honored as the Indi-ana Conservation Organization of the Year

1998 – Conservationist of the Year by the Indiana Wildlife Federation

1998 – Conservationist of the Year by the Indiana Bowhunters Association

2002 – Conservationist of the Year by the IDNR

2004 – Indiana Bowhunters Associa-tion renamed their Conservationist of the Year award in honor of Dick

And finally, the crowning achievement in Dick’s career came in 2010 when he was elected to the Indiana Conservation Hall of Fame.

When Dick stepped down as ISR Presi-dent in 2010, I was deeply honored that Dick confided in me to take over his seat. Although I may currently hold the title of ISR President, I know that no one can ever fill Dick’s shoes. He was truly unique in the skills, experiences, and personality that he was able to bring to bear in his 17 years as ISR President. My only hope is that he can look down on us and smile as we try to follow his example.

Dick’s impact will not be measured simply by what he accomplished during his years on earth - his impact will be felt for generations to come through his ac-complishments and the examples that he set for those who will follow him. I thank God for Dick Mercier, and I thank Dick Mercier for the time and commitment that he gave our cause.

We will miss you Dick, but we will never forget you.

“The Lord does not Subtract from Man’s Life Span the Hours Spent Hunting”

Gene Hopkins is a member of the IWF board of directors and president of the Indi-ana Sportsmen’s Roundtable

Dick Mercier – a true conservationist

Dick’s impact will not be measured simply by what he accomplished

during his years on earth - his impact will be felt for generations to come through his

accomplishments and the examples that he set for

those who will follow him.

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Affiliate Corner

Birth of a Dreamn By Zonda Bryant

The Jefferson Township Conservation Club is nestled on the west side of the Oakdale Dam spillway between Delphi and Monticello. The site is a hidden treasure for great fishing and primitive camping.

This year the board of directors felt they needed to focus on a new direc-tionóour youth. Board members realized that the world is different for the youth of today who spend more time engaging technology than playing outdoors like we did.

Most of us learned to love nature by ac-tively engaging it when we playedóbuild-ing forts, climbing trees, digging in the sand, hunting for tadpoles or collecting fireflies in a jar at night. We had lots of adventures.

We believe it is important to teach the next generation to love nature as we did. How else will they want to protect it?

We did our homework, collected ideas and began to dream. The first idea is simple and very basicóa large sand area, and the kids took to it like a fish to water.

For educational pieces, we plan to make name plaques to put in front of some trees to teach their common and sci-entific names. We also are taking pictures

of interesting wildlife, insects and plants to post on learning boards with informa-tion about them.

The third and biggest part of this project is the wildlife habitat area being designed by IWFís Travis Stoelting. We hope to have this area certified as Wild-life Friendly, and we expect it will attract birds and butterflies so everyone can observe them firsthand.

These projects will begin this fall and continue through next spring.

Over the next few years we hope to incorporate many of the good ideas we

have found to encourage the children to play and learn. The site has the potential to meet this challenge. We have woods that could have hiking trails and historic trees, such as a bald cypress, that ìkneesî because it flourished in a swampy area in the woods. It is estimated to be at least 60 years old.

As we watch the enthusiasm grow in the children that come to our site, we smile and know we are heading in the right direction.

Zonda Bryant is xxxxxxxxxx with or of the Jefferson Township Conservation Club

Local kids gather outside the information shelter that houses all of their wildlife posters and pictures.

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Mention this ad when you join online and receive a free gift!Visit www.indianawildlife.org today.

IWF worked with Carmel Clay Parks and Recreation in July to put on Devotion to Wildlife: Jennie DeVoe in concert, the first concert in what we hope to become an annual summer series.

DeVoe and her band played a mix of original and cover material to an enthusiastic crowd of IWF and DeVoe followers alike.

IWF welcomed the diverse

audience. We asked DeVoe to play our first concert because we knew she could draw a crowd of people who may not have heard of our organization.

Newcomers to IWF quickly got a great taste of IWF’s projects and goals. That evening, Steve Cecil, IWF board president, announced West Park had earned IWF;s Wildlife Friendly Certification.

After the first try, we are confident

the concert series could become a valu-able fundraiser for IWF. Our extremely helpful volunteers made the event run smoothly, and we will depend on their support even more for next year.

IWF thanks everyone who attended, our amazing volunteers and sponsors, and Jennie and her band.

E-mail [email protected] if you would like to be involved in planning next year’s concert.

Jennie DeVoe rocks for wildlife

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Auction DonorAltum’s Horticultural Center &

Landscape

Dr. Michael & Mi’Chelle Bettner

Brighton Collectables

Bundy Decoys

Butler Winery and Vineyards

Carmel Clay Parks & Recreation

Greenleaf Financial Group

Indiana Parks & Recreation Association

Bruce Nekar

Orvis

Patrick’s Kitchen and Drinks

Ray’s Trash Service

Tom Roller

The Rug Gallery

Schwartz’s Bait & Tackle

The Scotts Company

Trader Joe’s

Whole Foods Market

Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.

Willow by Greg Adams

World Market

SponsorsAmeriplex, Indianapolis

Aquatic Control

Beam, Longest & Neff

Engledow Group

BTS Promotions, Inc.

ProLiance Energy, LLC

The Scotts Company

Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.

From the intern desk…n By miScHa nixon

When I was a sophomore at Purdue looking for my first internship, I looked at a bulletin board in my building on a whim. I felt like I was behind my class-mates; most of them already had summer internships, and some had even snagged one after their freshman year.

Turns out looking at that bulletin board in desperation was the gateway to two great summers.

The particular posting I saw was for a biological intern, which was my first position with the IWF. It was a great job, allowing me to be outdoors while being a part of a small organization. I

learned about things that weren’t even on my radar before, like the importance of native plants, small ways to be wildlife friendly, and how to identify plants and trees.

Going into it, I was struggling with whether I was pursuing the right aca-demic major, and working at IWF made me sure I wasn’t. It helped me start my journey to decide what major was really the best fit for me.

It also rekindled my love for the outdoors, prompting me to start visit-ing nature preserves around the state on weekends during the school year.

And now, this summer, as the vol-unteer coordinator, I got to take on a completely different role that even further

refined what I’m looking for in my future career. Getting to be in closer contact with IWF supporters gave me a greater sense of responsibility, and being a part of the Jennie Devoe concert was so fun.

I am so thankful for the time I have had at the Indiana Wildlife Federation not only because it helped me grow as an individual and a professional, but also because I loved getting to work with such a great staff.

IWF frequently offers internships for students interested in conservation is-sues. Interested students should e-mail a resume and cover letter to [email protected].


n By traviS StoeltinG

Fall is a special time of year in the Midwest. Chilly mornings and warm days are accompanied by all the tra-ditional events of the season, from expansive migrations to the brilliant turning of foliage.

One of the truest tell-tale signs of fall’s arrival takes place at the break of dawn in late October when seemingly forgotten fields come to life with several simultaneous, loud and clear whistles. The covey call of northern bobwhites briefly announces their presence for the morn-ing with an unmistakable call that easily surpasses that of any other bird in autumn.

Named for the male’s other notorious whistle of spring and summer, poor Bob-WHITE, bobwhite quail are one of six species of quail native to North America, the only quail found east of the Mississippi River.

Bobwhites are present throughout Indiana, but their abundance varies dra-matically between locations. The heart of quail country in Indiana is found in the southwestern part of the state, where agriculture and coal mining dominate the landscape.

As a species, northern bobwhites have declined more than three percent annually across the nation over the last four de-cades. Spring whistle counts conducted by the DNR’s Division of Fish and Wildlife indicate that the same downward trend is also occurring in Indiana. The primary cause for this troubling decline is undoubtedly habitat loss.

Quail habitat comes in many forms and has several compo-nents. In the spring and summer, breeding pairs seek out blocky patches of early successional grassland communities with ample amounts of dense escape cover nearby.

Nests composed of fine, dead plant materials are made on the ground and usually placed near a clump of grass. Both males and females incubate a nest of 12-18 eggs, and hens may attempt to nest up to three times in one summer.

Fallow areas and field margins rich with insects are used during the summer and early fall for rearing broods of young chicks. As the fall and winter months arrive, multiple family groups of 10-20 quail, called coveys, retreat to the protective cover offered by dense thickets of brambles and saplings often found along woodland edges, fencerows, and retired fields.

Fluctuations in habi-tat conditions and winter weather, paired with the quail’s high reproductive ca-pacity, often results in “boom and bust” populations from year to year. Quail typically have a high annual mortal-ity, with 70-80 percent of the adult birds not making it through the winter. However, their life strategy will allow impressive rebounds if habitat conditions are right.

Like many other ground-dwelling game birds, quail utilize their intricate plumage to hide, and their short, pow-erful wings to suddenly burst

into flight, scattering the covey to confuse potential predators. This behavior gave rise to the popularity of quail as an abundant game species following the Civil War.

Although a fraction of its former self, the tradition of quail hunting with the use of pointing dogs has continued in Indiana. This dedicated group of bird hunters, along with other conserva-tionists, farmers, and natural resource agencies, now is responsible for many of the efforts to increase Indiana’s quail habitat and allow future generations to enjoy this part of our living heritage.

Species Profile: Northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus)

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n By marija WatSon

This fall, several Indiana universities and campuses will be invited to join Landscaping the Sustainable Campus, an initiative focused on sustainable approach-es to managing campus grounds. This program is an expansion of the phosphorus-free lawn fertilizer campaign, designed to address stormwater management and nutrient pollution.

Schools enrolling in Land-scaping the Sustainable Campus partner with the Indiana Wild-life Federation to review their current grounds-keeping plan and determine opportunities to develop a more sustainable landscape management plan. IWF will recommend particu-lar conservation practices and implementation strategies depending on a campus’s goals.

Input from staff, faculty, and students collectively will help determine best man-agement practices. Students experience designing and implementing practical, sustainable solutions.

Many institutions already engage in sustainable initiatives, but this program goes farther by emphasizing sustain-able landscape management; pesticide/herbicide use reduction; invasive species

eradication; native plant species selection; and water conservation, retention and recycling.

Land conservation practices are critical to managing streamflow and soil health, but conventional landscaping can cause or intensify several water quality issues and concerns. For example, the practices used to maintain a weed-free stand of turfgrass often require fertilizers, pesticides and water.

Applied in excess these nutrients and chemicals will reach lakes, ponds, and reservoirs through surface water runoff

contributing to algal blooms. Ecosystems affected by prolific algae suffer from low levels or the absence of dissolved oxygen, decreased potential for photo-synthesis, occurrence of algal toxins and degraded habitat conditions.

Emphasizing sustainability in campus operations will alleviate stress on natural resources and establish more native Indiana landscapes. Landscaping the Sustainable Campus strives to increase habitat space and di-versity of native species, manage stormwater runoff and improve water quality, minimize lawn area and mowing and decrease chemical use.

Concentrating on these goals by incorporating sustain-

able practices on campus grounds has many advantages to people and wildlife. Campuses will benefit from the reduced maintenance costs and the creation of an outdoor learning laboratory for students. Wildlife will benefit from increased habitat, and the many advantages gained from native plant installations and other sustainability efforts.

Learn more about Landscaping the Sus-tainable Campus at www.indianawildlife.org/sustainablecampus.htm.

Landscaping the sustainable campus

This IWF-certified schoolyard habitat, located at Cold Spring Environmental School in Indianapolis, exemplifies a living laboratory for students to learn about and explore.”

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n By kyle BurnS

Recent high-profile articles and editorials have renewed a touchy and complex debate: how to manage intro-

duced or non-native species, plants and animals transplant-ed from their natural habitats by humans.

In a June Nature article, Mark Davis and 18 other ecologists stirred up controversy suggesting scientists should adopt a more conciliatory attitude toward non-

native species. Instead of investing the time and energy to eradicate them, we should “embrace more dynamic and pragmatic approaches to the conservation and management of species—approaches better suited to a fast-changing planet.”

Basically, as the world continues to change rapidly, and non-native species easily spread to new environments, scientists’ attitudes about managing non-natives should change. We should embrace and study the “novel ecosys-tems” created by introductions and invasions, accept that some introduced species provide important benefits to native species and humans, and stop vilifying introduced species as “invaders” or “aliens.”

Davis and his colleagues argue the introductions of non-native species can increase biodiversity, do not typi-cally pose an extinction threat to most species, and provide ecosystem services and habitats that benefit native species. Conservationists, they conclude, should “focus much more on the function of species, and much less on where they originated.”

Anthropologist Hugh Raffles added his take on the debate in a New York Times editorial, comparing the language used to describe non-native species to rhetoric commonly associated with anti-immigrant nativism and xenophobia.

Raffles inappropriately draws on a controversial politi-cal issue and exaggerates his argument, but labels such as “alien” and “invasive” indeed may foster an us-versus-them mentality among the general public and policy-makers. This dichotomy, argues Davis, et al., has become counter-productive because it distracts people from understanding the benefits of introduced species and the futility of trying to eradicate them.

Mark Gardener, head of restoration at the Charles Darwin Research Station, has accepted this futility with respect to the non-native, invasive species on the Galapagos Islands. Profiled in a spring issue of the journal Science, Gardener concedes we have failed to purify the islands’ ecosystems, and we must now “embrace” alien species.

According to Chew, one of the co-authors of the divisive Nature article, we have three options for approaching inva-sive species: prevention, suppression, or adaptation. From

Chew’s perspective, the first two options are have not worked and probably will fail in the end, so we must adapt to the new ecosystems.

Anyone who has attempted to control invasive species may sym-pathize with Chew’s approach. Consider the persistence of Canada thistle or Japanese honeysuckle, two plants seemingly impossible to

exterminate without carefully planning. Despite the dif-ficulty of managing these invasive non-natives, accepting these species, embracing the emergence of novel ecosystems as inevitable, means we will have given up on preserving the best ecosystems possible.

The attitude of acceptance and capitulation contradicts the beliefs of scientists around the world. Unsurprisingly, several scientists and organizations, including the United Nations, which made invasive species management a priority for preserving biodiversity in its Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020, have spoken out against accepting or embracing invasive species.

In a letter published in Nature, a group of 141 scientists take issue with Davis’s group’s generalization that most conservationists are strongly biased against all introduced

INVAsIVes… worth the fight

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Further Reading“Biological Bias” The Current CBC Radio-Canada (http://

www.cbc.ca/thecurrent) August 4, 2011.

Davis, M. et al. “Don’t judge species on their origins” Nature 474, 153-154 (2011).

“Edward O. Wilson: The loss of biodiversity is a tragedy” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization Interview (http://www.unesco.org/) September 20, 2011

Keim, B. “Ecologists: Time to End Invasive-Species Persecu-tion” Wired (http://www.wired.com/wiredscience) June 8, 2011.

Lambertini, M. et al. “Invasives: a major conservation threat” Science 333, 404-405 (2011).

Raffles, H. “Mother Nature’s Melting Pot” The New York Times April 2, 2011.

Simberloff, D. “Non-natives: 141 scientists object” Nature 475, 36 (2011).

“Struggle against invasive species remains important goal…” Communiqué, United Nations

Convention on Biological Diversity, August 2011

Vince, G. “Embracing Invasives” Science 331, 1383-1384 (2011).

“We need to strengthen, not weaken, the struggle against harmful invasive species” The Invasive Species Specialist Group, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (http://www.issg.org/pdf/rebuttal.pdf) June 15, 201.


species. They point out most scientists recognize the poten-tial benefits of introduced species; they do not unequivocal-ly oppose all non-natives; and they do not necessarily believe all introduced species need to be eradicated.

Beyond correcting Davis’s generalizations, the group warns about downplaying the harmful impacts of invasive species, which may take years to manifest, and “pronounc-ing a newly introduced species as harmless.” Ecological communities often have no “evolutionary experience” of new organisms, and their reactions can be unpredictable.

Leaders from several international conservation organiza-tions echoed the group’s comments in a letter published by Science. They decry the mischaracterization of conservation-ists’ attitude toward non-native species, pointing out impor-tant differences between alien species and invasive species.

Alien species can be beneficial, but scientists should eradiate or prevent the spread of invasives, which by defi-nition cause ecological harm. One thousand successful eradications indicate that these types of projects should not be abandoned.

Other scientists have been explicitly more critical of Davis and his colleagues calling the article “biased” and “not a fair representation of the risks and benefits.” One points out invasive species have caused an estimated $100 to $200 billion of damage in the United States.

Notre Dame ecologist David Lodge worries that while species introductions may increase local biodiversity, they lead to declines in ecological uniqueness on a larger geo-graphic scale. Lodge and other ecologists characterize this phenomenon as contributing to the “homogecene,” a new era during which introduced species become so dominant that all ecosystems begin to exhibit similar compositions.

Aside from homogenizing the world’s ecosystems, uncon-trolled invasive species choke out other organisms and cause extinctions. When invasives force out native populations, “links in food webs” break down and lead to, among other consequences, the “Loss or erosion of ecosystems due to destabilization,” says biologist E.O. Wilson.

While scientists with a more accepting attitude toward non-natives argue invasives may benefit select species by providing food or habitat, they ignore the cascading prob-lems caused by extinctions and biodiversity loss.

As people continue to enable the spread and dominance of invasive and introduced species around the world, we will face tough decisions about how to handle those non-native species. Proponents from either side of the argument can cite evidence for or against trying to manage or eradicate non-natives.

Though we cannot restore nature to its condition before humans intervened, we must still work to correct our past mistakes whenever possible. To embrace novel ecosystems, to accept invasives and, consequently, extinctions and bio-diversity loss means we will have decided against the plants and animals that make up our natural heritage.

4715 W. 106th StreetZionsville, IN 46077

Hoosier Outdoor experience

A young builder gets a helping hand with his bird feeder. 200 kids built and took home feeders during this year’s Hoosier Outdoor Experience. Thanks go out to our wonderful volunteers, the North Dearborn Conservation Club, and Wild Birds Unlimited.

hoosier conservation: fall 2011

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