We use scientific studies and observation to explain why native plant “restorations” in California are rarely successful.
Six months ago, an ecologist friend and mentor alerted me that Ferris Jabr was writing an article about Doug Tallamy for The New York Times Magazine. They spoke by phone for about an hour, during which my friend recommended that Jabr also speak with me. I was hopeful that the Times would publish an even-handed Continue reading " Nature s Best Hope is Evolution, Not Native Plants"
It is my pleasure to publish (with permission) Arthur M. Shapiro’s (Professor of Ecology Evolution Emeritus, UC Davis) review of Ecological Explosions: The History of Biological Invasion and Invasion Science, by Daniel Simberloff (Professor of Environmental Science, University of Tennessee). Professor Simberloff is a prolific and vociferous adherent to the hypotheses of invasion Continue reading…
The hero of Eradication: A Fable (1) is Adi, a jazz musician and 4th grade school teacher in an unnamed South American country. He has recently lost his 11-year old son, Jairo, who fell from the roof of their apartment building. Jairo was neuro-divergent, with an obsession with flying paper airplanes. Adi believes Jairo’s fall Continue reading "Eradication: A Fable"
Here in the San Francisco Bay Area we are having a spectacular spring after heavy fall and late spring rains. Perhaps the blooming abundance in your garden inspires you to plant a tree! Taking care of your new tree is just as important as planting it. So, we are grateful to Mark Spreyer for offering Continue reading "Taking Care of Newly Planted Trees"
Garden Rant recently published an article by garden-writer, Marianne Willburn, defending gardeners who prefer a diverse garden over an exclusively native garden. This issue has been hotly debated for several decades, generating conflict in gardens and garden societies. These are places where people seek refuge from life’s many challenges. Some mourn the loss of peace Continue reading "Seeking…
Conservation Sense and Nonsense spends an inordinate amount of time and energy responding to Doug Tallamy’s claim that insects are solely dependent on native plants because his publications are extremely influential with home gardeners and public land managers. A preference for native plants is not in itself a problem. The problem is that the preference Continue reading "Obscuring the…
Kollibri Terre Sonnenblume and his writing partner, Nikki Hill, are co-authoring a book tentatively entitled “Don’t Blame the Messenger: A critique of the ‘invasive plant’ narrative.” Kollibri has published a draft chapter of their book on his Substack, “Speaking for the Trees, No Matter Where They’re From.” The chapter is foundational to their book and Continue reading "The Illusive Definition of…
One year ago, less than a month after Donald Trump was re-elected President, I announced on Conservation Sense and Nonsense my intention to “hunker down and watch the changes [in the federal government] play out.” Although I predicted major changes in federal public policies, I did not foresee the scale and speed of changes in Continue reading "Environmentalism in the Rear-View Mirror"
Julian Burgoff wrote a guest post for Conservation Sense and Nonsense about the undervalued functions of non-native aquatic plants in 2023. Necessary Nuisance explained that non-native aquatic plants perform valuable ecological functions. Attempts to eradicate aquatic plants deprive aquatic animals of valuable habitat. The herbicides used to kill aquatic plants also pollute the water, harming…
Luther Burbank was born in Massachusetts in 1849, the 13th of 15 children. As a child, he had an interest in nature. With an inheritance from his father, who died when Burbank was 18 years old, he purchased a 17-acre farm in Massachusetts. Burbank bought his small farm intending to be a market farmer, selling Continue reading "Luther Burbank: The Plant Inventor"