[NatureNS] Beetles, forests, and climate change: Exchanging old mistakes for new?

From: Christopher Majka <c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca>
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Date: Sat, 28 Apr 2012 11:19:38 -0300
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Hi Dave et al.,

On 28-Apr-12, at 10:42 AM, David & Alison Webster wrote:

> Hi Chris & All,                        Apr 28, 2012
>     I agree Fritz, having a good excuse to terminate this program =20
> must be a relief to informed CFIA management.

It would be, except for the fact that the phrase "informed CFIA =20
management" appears to be an oxymoron. ;->

> It has been nearly 5 years since Greg Cunningham effectively =20
> admitted that BSLB was essentiall harmless; see following paste.
>
>     Personally, I am relieved to see this arrant waste of public =20
> funds terminated.

Ditto.

> START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\
> Dear All,            May 17, 2007
>      A recent article (Chron.Hrld.; May 16) on the Brown Spruce =20
> Longhorn
> Beetle includes an explanation, attributed to Greg Cunningham, that
> "The storm (Juan) created so much ground material that it gave the
> beetle an ideal opportunity to multiply."
>
>     So the admission has finally emerged indirectly that the BSLB can
> not attack healthy trees. If it could do so then the Juan swath of
> 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 =20=

> and effective action by CFIA, the dangerous strain of BLSB was =20
> extirpated and the remaining beetles are now harmless.

We'll see what face-saving excuses they come up with.

>     But anyone, including members of the forestry community, who =20
> ever supposed that BSLB was a genuine threat should take the time to =20=

> learn something about trees. This applies especially to Forest =20
> Entomologists who, apparently, are not required to have at least a =20
> basic comprehension of Tree Physiology and Soils.

An excellent point.

In my view two important factors drove this whole absurd charade:

1. There was a certain constituency amongst those who crafted the =20
response to the BSLB who were preoccupied with "invasive species." And =20=

just as it is the case that if your only tool is a hammer, the whole =20
world starts to look like nails, they applied this concept =20
immediately, with no second thought, and without conducting requisite =20=

scientific research.

2. If you want to understand anything, follow the money. Canada =20
carries on a huge and contentious softwood lumber trade with the =20
United States (see the URL below for a capsule summary of this). The =20
BSLB was "discovered" at a highly contentious time in that dispute =20
("Lumber IV" - the fourth major iteration of this dispute). There was =20=

a fear amongst the softwood lumber industry in Atlantic Canada that =20
softwood lumber interests in the US would use the BSLB as a pretext =20
for applying export sanctions under NAFTA on softwood lumber exports =20
from this region claiming that the BSLB could spread from Nova Scotia =20=

to the USA and threaten their forest industry, etc.

They might or might not be able to get away with this (you may recall, =20=

the same thing happened to exports of potatoes from PEI when potato =20
wart was discovered there) but in any event it then becomes a sticky =20
(and potentially expensive) negotiating point under NAFTA export =20
protocols. So, the decision was to act immediately and forcefully =20
against BSLB to try and forestall such a response. To not allow such a =20=

pretext by conveying the message to the Americans that we were taking =20=

the issue "seriously."

Thus the response had noting at all to do with science but everything =20=

to do with politics. And so, it sadly went. And this is where we are =20
12 years later having spent tens of millions of dollars on a phantom =20
menace. This is what happens when you decouple politics from science.

All the best!

Chris

	http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada=96=20
United_States_softwood_lumber_dispute

Christopher Majka
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 2G5
c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca

It's true we're on the wrong track, but we're compensating for this =20
short-coming by accelerating. - Stanislav Lec




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<html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; =
-webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Hi Dave et =
al.,<div><br><div><div>On 28-Apr-12, at 10:42 AM, David &amp; Alison =
Webster wrote:</div><br class=3D"Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote =
type=3D"cite"><span class=3D"Apple-style-span" style=3D"border-collapse: =
separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman'; =
font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; =
letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: =
-webkit-auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: =
normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: =
0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; =
-webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: =
auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "><div =
bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: =
space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><font size=3D"2">Hi =
Chris &amp; All,&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; =
&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Apr 28, =
2012</font></div><div><font size=3D"2">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; I agree Fritz, =
having a good excuse to terminate this program must be a relief to =
informed CFIA management. =
</font></div></div></span></blockquote><div><br></div><div>It would be, =
except for the fact that the phrase "informed CFIA management" appears =
to be an oxymoron. ;-&gt;</div><br><blockquote type=3D"cite"><div =
bgcolor=3D"#ffffff" style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: =
space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div><font size=3D"2">It =
has been nearly 5 years since Greg Cunningham effectively admi