How do you know they are not working? Perhaps I should explain the role
of CPC. The CPC makes no attempt to protect plant habitat. That is
handled by others (Nature Conservancy, etc...) Instead, the CPC program
consists of a network of 25 USA botanical gardens each responsible for
endangered and protected plants of thier phytogeographical region. These
gardens cultivate the rare plants in an effort to "back up" wild
populations, to study the plant's biology, and to build up a seed bank.
The ultimate goal is reintroduction, which will be done in coordination with
other agencies. You probably won't see the CPC collections held at these
botanical gardens because these are rare plants being carefully crossed and
monitored, not suitable for general public display.
> thought, but, maybe we can work together to set up our own conservation
> society, that could watch out for all the species, (i.e. not JUST sarrs.)
> I don't know if it can work, but if we are the ones with the hobby and the
> interest in the plants, shouldn't WE be the ones to help them? I may be
> naive here, but can't we just work on our own conservation program that
> could possibly work in conjunction with the societies already in
> existence? I know that the nature conservancy has some "responsibility",
> as do the others that Michael mentioned, but they are underfunded
> and hence are unable to do their job. What if we could take that out of
> their hands? Our interests would be covered, the plants could be
I would encourage hobbyists to learn more about CPC and other programs
before trying to "reinvent the wheel". These programs have botanists
and conservationists as advisors, and they have a lot of training in
conservation details the level of which have not even been discussed here.
The problem with "vigilantee conservationism" is that the vigilantees
tend to equate simple cultivation and propagation with conservation.
They are uninformed about issues concerning population genetics,
pollinator biology, artificial selection under cultivation, etc...
I think that if the vigilantees worked to learn about these and adapt
their growing conditions, they would be getting closer and closer to
doing the same thing as CPC anyway :-)
The other big problem I have with "vigilantee conservationism" is the
conflict of interest between conservation and the collector mentality.
Far too many unscrupulous collectors have tried to justify thier collecting
as a form of "conservation". I really don't think hobby collection have much
direct benefit for conservation. But hopefully hobbyists can keep thier
plants growing and in cultivation... we've seen this won't stop people from
collecting, but it means people don't HAVE to collect to obtain plants.
Also, cultivation exposes people to plants and can get them thinking about
conservation. That's certainly good.
As far as funding goes, I am not convinced that hobbyists really have so
much disposable income. If y'all do, why not make donations to CPC or
other programs? Why not work with existing programs? I know Americans
have (especially these days) an irrational fear and distrust of organizations
agencies, and experts. Remember that this is your government, you can do
more good by working to change the system from within, rather than
rejecting the system and trying to do things "your way". These official
organizations are not perfect. They make blunders. But who can claim
they're perfect? More importantly, these official groups have the clout to
get CITES and collection permits, and also to take legal actions when
needed.
> protected, and people could be further educated on them. Maybe through
> the ICPS? Then our efforts can go worldwide for all technical purposes.
Worldwide is another problem. CPC works only on USA plants. There are
some other programs such as WCMC (World Conservation Monitoring Center),
SSC (Species Survival Commission) which are concerned with international
efforts. I only have a little information on these as they pertain to
succulents. A web search might bring up more information.
Michael Chamberland