[NatureNS] Beetles, forests,

From: David & Alison Webster <dwebster@glinx.com>
To: NatureNS@chebucto.ns.ca
References: <9C59E7F3-9AFE-43E3-8E9D-F751911E38FA@ns.sympatico.ca>
Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 10:42:45 -0300
Precedence: bulk
Return-Path: <naturens-mml-owner@chebucto.ns.ca>
Original-Recipient: rfc822;"| (cd /csuite/info/Environment/FNSN/MList; /csuite/lib/arch2html)"

next message in archive
next message in thread
previous message in archive
previous message in thread
Index of Subjects

Index of Subjects
This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0CFB_01CD252B.A5B20060
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="Windows-1252"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

Hi Chris & All,                        Apr 28, 2012
    I agree Fritz, having a good excuse to terminate this program must =
be a relief to informed CFIA management. It has been nearly 5 years =
since Greg Cunningham effectively admitted that BSLB was essentiall =
harmless; see following paste.

    Personally, I am relieved to see this arrant waste of public funds =
terminated.=20

START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\
Dear All,            May 17, 2007
     A recent article (Chron.Hrld.; May 16) on the Brown Spruce Longhorn =

Beetle includes an explanation, attributed to Greg Cunningham, that =20
"The storm (Juan) created so much ground material that it gave the=20
beetle an ideal opportunity to multiply."

    So the admission has finally emerged indirectly that the BSLB can=20
not attack healthy trees. If it could do so then the Juan swath of=20
damaged trees would not have provided this "...ideal opportunity...".

    It takes a while sometimes.

Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
END OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    If they cared to be devious, they could claim that due to prompt and =
effective action by CFIA, the dangerous strain of BLSB was extirpated =
and the remaining beetles are now harmless.

    But anyone, including members of the forestry community, who ever =
supposed that BSLB was a genuine threat should take the time to learn =
something about trees. This applies especially to Forest Entomologists =
who, apparently, are not required to have at least a basic comprehension =
of Tree Physiology and Soils.

    Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Christopher Majka=20
  To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
  Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 5:56 PM
  Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Beetles, forests, and climate change: =
Exchanging old mistakes for new?


  Hi Fritz,=20


  It's unlikely that this will save any face for the CFIA; rather the =
opposite. As a knowledgeable colleague of mine, who occupies a high =
position in the forest industry wrote me:


    If the whole program is being cut after so much time and money has =
been spent, it=92s hard to see how the CFIA can regain any credibility =
with the forestry community ....


  As far as I know, the CFIA have said nothing publicly about this issue =
yet. They will surely not be pleased to have to make such a cut, but =
politically it will be difficult for them to blame the government. All =
such agencies keep having to maintain the illusion that nothing =
essential is being lost through cuts (since saying otherwise is =
politically dangerous), but then that gives the appearance that all the =
BSLB work was non-essential (i.e., superfluous). ;~> Their options are:


  a) Declare victory and say nothing further remains to be done; or=20


  b) Declare defeat and say that nothing further can be done.


  It's not going to be easy for them either way.


  Cheers!


  Chris


  On 25-Apr-12, at 8:40 PM, Fritz McEvoy wrote:


    Hi Chris and All,
       I wonder if this not only a cost cutting measure but also a face =
saving way for the CFIA to get rid of a program (the Blown Spruce =
Longhorn Beetle Risk Mitigation Program - BSLBRMP) that had become an =
embarrassment to the agency because of all the bad press they had =
received. By eliminating the program as part of a cost cutting exercise =
they can just say their work was done and avoid all those pesky =
questions as to why it was ever begun in the first place. All the best.
                                  Fritz McEvoy
                                   Sunrise Valley, CB


-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---
    From: c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca
    To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
    Subject: [NatureNS] Beetles, forests, and climate change: Exchanging =
old mistakes for new?
    Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:36:23 -0300


    Hi folks,


    Many sectors of Canadian society are still in shock, reeling from =
the recent budget cutbacks announced by the federal government. One =
agency hard hit is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Thus far =
concern has focused around food safety but the CBC has learned of =
another cut to the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle program.=20


    In this case the CFIA never undertook the research, to establish =
that this species was actually a pest. Consequently, there=92s no =
evidence that biocontrol, containment, eradication, or quarantine =
measures were ever warranted. However, climate change, may be a much =
greater threat to spruce forests and the federal government policy is =
undermining our capacity to investigate this, let alone act upon it.


    In the event that this subject is of interest, please feel free to =
check my recent article:


    Beetles, forests, and climate change: Exchanging old mistakes for =
new?
    =
http://www.behindthenumbers.ca/2012/04/25/bettles-forests-and-climate-cha=
nge-exchanging-old-mistakes-for-new/


    Published today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.


    All the best,


    Christopher Majka



-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
-----

  No virus found in this message.
  Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
  Version: 10.0.1424 / Virus Database: 2411/4954 - Release Date: =
04/23/12

------=_NextPart_000_0CFB_01CD252B.A5B20060
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="Windows-1252"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META content=3D"text/html; charset=3Dwindows-1252" =
http-equiv=3DContent-Type>
<META name=3DGENERATOR content=3D"MSHTML 8.00.6001.19222">
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY=20
style=3D"WORD-WRAP: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space"=20
bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Hi Chris &amp; All,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; =
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;=20
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; =
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Apr=20
28, 2012</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I agree Fritz, having a good =
excuse to=20
terminate this program must be a relief to informed CFIA management. It =
has been=20
nearly 5 years since Greg Cunningham effectively admitted that BSLB was=20
essentiall harmless; see following paste.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Personally, I am relieved to see =
this=20
arrant waste of public funds terminated. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Dear =
All,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&