Hi Tweeters,

Peggi Rogers brings up a good point:

>>That brings up an interesting point. When does an introduced species =
become
"accepted"? For instance, in rehab we are not allowed to release =
possums on
public land. But it's OK to release Ring-necked pheasants. Now, both =
those
species are introduced and both have acclimated to our area. So why is =
one
acceptable and not the other? Is it because one can be (cringe) hunted =
and
one cannot (or is not)? I once asked Fish & Wildlife that very question =
and
basically got no answer.<<

Most state fish and wildlife agencies have a very vested interest in =
maintaining a huntable or fishable population of exotics. The main =
reason for this is often that the native "game" animal species are =
depleted. The sharp-tailed and the sage grouse would make excellent =
"game" animals for eastern Washington, if only the habitat hadn't been =
trashed decades ago for those two species. For an agency that was (is?) =
dependent upon hunting and fishing license revenues for a significant =
portion of its budget, the old Game Department did what its constituents =
wanted. =20

In the same light, northwest resources agencies have promoted fish =
hatcheries to replenish or maintain fish populations all over the =
region. In places where the native or native-type fishes couldn't keep =
up with changes in habitats and consumptive uses, attempts were made to =
introduce other species. So, now we have bass, rainbow, brook and brown =
trout in native streams and lakes competing with sockeye, mudminnows, =
Cutthroat and Dolly Varden/Bull Trout. For goodness' sake, we in =
Washington and Oregon are paying a bounty on a native cyprinid =
(Squawfish - sorry, it's not a P.C. name - Ptychocheilus oregonensis) in =
the Columbia - because they eat salmon smolts below the damn dams, while =
the state Fish and Wildlife agencies are promoting the virtues of the =
introduced predatory exotic spiny-ray, the Walleye (Stizostedion =
vitreum) - which do the same thing. =20

But, whaddya gonna do? We're not going to get rid of the stuff. The =
starlings, walleye, and Kentucky bluegrass (yeh, we all have our nice =
European-style lawns in our yards... and I *hate English Ivy!!*) are =
here to stay. The habitat, the flora and the fauna have changed - =
permanently. Our foods are Eurasian or central American, and the weeds =
that grow with those plants have followed the food plants here. I'm =
only vaguely aware of the myriad invertebrates that we've brought with =
us from place to place and the species assemblages we've converted here =
in Cascadia. And, for the most part *we're* not too native. I don't =
want to contribute to an off-topic thread going too long, but I do think =
that feral parakeets are the least of our natural resource problems....

Anyway, as far as the psittacids go, when can we 'count' 'em? :-)

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net