> "Well, you see your efforts were useless," he said. "While you were
> doing that,
> we were studying the safety of releasing insects from Europe. We
> wanted to
> make sure that we weren't going to be introducing a bigger problem if
> we released
> them here. When we were certain that the insects were safe, we
> released them
> and now look at the results. If you had just waited, those results
> would have been
> the same."

I would have to strongly disagree with this statement. The work that
Connie, John, I and many others - Nate Sutter, Susan Collicot, Ellen
Blackstone spring to mind, was far from wasted and is certainly was not
useless. It bought several years of excellent shorebirding which paid
off in the form of:

American Avocet
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - seen by Chris McInerny
Ruff
Black-bellied plover
Semi-palmated Plover
Red-necked phalarope
Wilson's Phalarope
Stilt Sandpiper
many Pectoral Sandpipers
hundred of western sandpipers
thousands of least sandpipers

My only regret is that I never got to see a black-necked stilt wading
around the north end of the central pond.

This year the loosestrife flowered for the first time in about three
years and the growth pattern of the plants have changed so while the
growth of loosestrife has been halted this might only be a temporary
situation and it may be some time before the central pond is clear.
Over at the SE pond the loosestrife has been replaced by a thick carpet
of morning glory and in my opinion the habitat is worse as a result.

I think release of the insects has benefitted the area in some ways but
the problem of loosestrife is far from solved.

Sometimes the best solution is simply to roll up your sleeves,

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Seattle, WA, USA