Scott & Tweeters,

Some one is obviously having some fun at our expense, but I doubt that
it's Bridget Simon. She works for the State Noxious Weed Board and has
been coordinating the collection of these beetles for distribution as
described in the post attributed to you. Anything is possible I suppose,
but I can't imagine what her motive would be. Of course, I can't
imagine what was the motive of whoever is responsible for this bogus
attribution, either.

Dennis K Rockwell
Kennewick, Washington
denniskrockwell at juno.com

On Sun, 13 Jun 1999 18:24:33 -0700 (PDT) "S. Downes"
<sdownes at u.washington.edu> writes:
>Tweets,
>The following post was very well done, but I was wondering who the
>author
>was? Contrary to the message header I got, it was not sent by me. Is
>the
>sender the Bridget Simon listed at the end of the message?
>Thanks,
>
>Scott Downes
>sdownes at u.washington.edu
>Seattle WA
>
>"Birds don't read bird books. (That's why they are seen doing things
>they
>are not supposed to do)." -Mary Wood
>
>
>On Sun, 13 Jun 1999, S. Downes wrote:
>
>> Recently a friend of mine partipated in an unusual collecting trip
>to Moses
>> Lake/Winchester Wastelands area. Instead of collecting plant species
>or bird
>> sightings, she collected tiny beetles[4-5mm in length], members of
>the genus
>> "Galerucella". Two species were introduced to this area [and the US]
>in
>> 1992. The beetles are unusual in several aspects, most importantly
>to those
>> of us interested in preserving streams & wetlands is the fact that
>they
>> consume Purple Loosestrife [Lythrum salicaria] and only Purple
>Loosestrife
>> in mass quantities! The plant was probably introduced as seeds in
>European
>> soil used as ship ballast in the early 1800's. It has infested
>35,000 acres
>> in the Potholes/Moses Lake area alone. If you've sat along Edmonds
>Way
>> [SR104], waiting for a ferry, you've probably seen its attractive
>lavender
>> colored blooms amongst tha cattails along both sides of the road,;
>quietly
>> choking out our native vegetation in the Edmonds Marsh. The State
>Noxious
>> Weed Control Board co-ordinated the three day collecting effort with
>various
>> city, county and park agents and the Bureau of Reclamation which
>manages the
>> area. Boats were used to maneuver through the shallow waterways up
>to the
>> banks that held the defoliated remnants of the Purple Loosestrife.
>Just two
>> years ago, the loosestrife was 8' tall and extended 50' from the
>bank into
>> the wetland for thousands of acres. Now, in much of that area,
>there's just
>> dry, brown stalks and a few stunted living plants--th anks to the
>appetite
>> of the beetles. The effort to introduce them to many more heavily
>infested
>> areas in the state began last year. Now they are happily munching
>away on
>> the loosestrife in the Edmonds Marsh.
>>
>> For more info. contact Bridget Simon, Wa. State Noxious Weed Control
>Board:
>> E-mail bsimon at agr.wa.gov Ph. [253] 872-2318 [compiled by Bonnie
>Storm with
>> thxs.]
>
>

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