Wildflower gets federal protection [Keck's Checkermallow]

Fresno Bee ^ | June 20, 2002 | Michael Doyle

[snopercod]

WASHINGTON -- Federal officials Wednesday identified 1,085 acres in the southern San Joaquin Valley as crucial for a vulnerable plant.

By designating the land in Tulare and Fresno counties as critical habitat, the Fish and Wildlife Service hopes to preserve the endangered Keck's checkermallow.

[snopercod]

I'd bet money that certain developers are waiting to buy up this now-worthless ranchland.

[buffyt]

Now if this plant is the source for Marshmallow creme????? I am so tired of so much of US land being critical to some plant, bug, fish or animal... what about HUMANS? don't we need a habitat too? The US gov. controls thirty percent of total US land, and eighty percent of Utah... Greedy US gov.!!!

[logic]

"Though all but seven of the 1,085 acres proposed as critical habitat are privately owned, federal officials insist property owners won't feel a burden."

Of course not, we wouldn't dream of burdening property owners, We'll just confiscate the property in the name of endangered species act and the only inconvienience to the (ex)property owner is to move his cattle off the land we just stole from him!!!!

[snopercod]

Just something to cheer you up.

[raisincane]

And we wonder why real estate is so darn expensive in CA! Supply and demand be damned! The land is off limits for development, so what is available is off limits, price wise, to the potential home buyers. Our property rights are being limited on a daily basis by enviornmental extremists. Logical answer: Harvest some seeds and plant them elsewhere? Oh, too logical, I guess.

[Grampa Dave]

More of the insanity!

[madfly]

ping

[E.G.C.]

BTTT!!!!!!

[hattend]

It hasn't been seen since the 30's. Where has it been? If we didn't miss it before, then a midnight Checkermallow picking party would go un-noticed, right?

Oh, wait. There will be armed USFS agents guarding every plant.

[Grampa Dave]

Er, a little reality check re what happenens in Kali when land is seized for the critters. The critters own it not the evil developers: (EPA Critters = Biggest Land Owners in California)

[B4Ranch]

In ten years that area will all belong to Mexico so quit whining about it. The Mexicans will tell the UN that they are going along with "critical habitat" unless they get free food and medical care for as long as they live. The UN will agree and America will pay the costs, of course.

[snopercod]

Your link doesn't seem to work.

[gonzo]

The answer is: LAWNMOWER!!

Had a similar problem in the 80's while I was building a manufacturing plant in a swamp in Arkansas. Some guy with a badge showed up!

He said:"Y'know, they's Wood Ducks back there. That could be a problem!"

I said:"Let's go have a beer or three, and you and I can come back tomorrow and count the ducks."

$300.00 later, the next day, we counted 22 ducks, on 5 Weber Grills, and I finished building the plant.

Those ducks tasted like mud, but the Tabasco helped............FRegards

[Snow Bunny]

Thank you madfly for the ping.

[TigersEye]

A Checkermallow huh? As an herbalist let me tell you about mallows. They are mucilaginous plants that make a good poultice for burns and scrapes and are soothing to the gut and urinary tract when taken internally, usually as a tea of the dried plant. Mallows are a useful but very unremarkable plant remedy. They are also one of the most pervasive weedy type of plant there is, some types growing up through every crack in the sidewalk. If they want to preserve this one (why is beyond the stretch of even my fertile imagination) they should collect the seed and pass it out to organic gardners across the country. Most would probably take a pass on it not wanting a near useless weed with an unremarkable flower becoming invasive in their garden. There are undoubtedly half a dozen more productive mallows with showier flowers (Marshmallow, Hollyhock etc.) that they could choose. That, however, would probably interfere with ongoing plans to restrict and ban the distribution of 'exotic' plants and their seeds.

Funny isn't it? On the one hand they don't want to lose this loser of a mallow plant that couldn't compete itself out of one drainage in the last 10,000 years and on the other they want to prevent people from propagating 'unusual' species of plants from around the world that are edible, medicinal or just look good in the garden or landscaping. SOB's!

My suggestion to the good folks out there is to get a group together some weekend and pull every single Checkermallow there is withhout exception. Bag 'em up and leave 'em on the steps of the nearest EPA office. Checkermallow endangerment problem solved.

[Grampa Dave]

Out here in N. California we have what is known as Vernal Pools. They are just a collection of water after a rainy winter/summer. They usually are in the same spots in a pasture, a low spot with some higher elevations around. Of course water flows down hill and seeps down hill each year to form these pools.

There are some nice colors of some plant growth each wet year. The enviral whackos have made these vernal pools sacred ground. Farmers/ranchers have to fence off these pools or face big fines if their cattle/sheep get into the pools. Any farmer planting a crop where the pool is, could be fined.

We had a small one on our property, and my son warned me that if neighbor saw it, I might have to fence it and other things. Then, we had severe flooding in our area and could lost our home due to a lot of water flowing down a dry creek into our home. I had our yard guys build a very large French Drain to divert the flow from the house to the street. The yard guy in charge couldn't figure out why I had them run the drain along a certain route instead of straight down and out to the street. My son and I know why.

[madfly]

Thanks for the 3 fine tales, you guys. This stuff gets so depressing. Thanks for lightening it up. Nice to hear the wisdom and creativity you impart.

Going in my book on Getting Around Stupid Enviral Regulations.

1. Bunch of beer and a Duck tasing party.

2. Lawnmower and weed gathering party.

3. Secret French ditch and an Oath of Secrecy from yard guys.

( I was thinking "A Sump Hole for Every Vernal Pool" would make a good campaign slogan)

[Grampa Dave]

You posted, "3. Secret French ditch and an Oath of Secrecy from yard guys.

Actually the correct terminology is French Drain.

The yard maintence owner, yard architect/planner, never knew why I had him put the French Drain in the way I did. If he had know it, he would probably not have done it. I could just see some enviral whacko saying "Your house needs to be flooded and then knocked down to allow this dry creek to flood every 10 to 20 years and to preserve this wonderful, you know what.

[gonzo]

There's a bit more to the swamp story. The aforementioned swamp didn't even exist 50 years ago. It was grassland until they built the Interstate and restricted the drainage.

I bought four .22 rifles and one 16 gage shotgun(Jim B. always wanted a shotgun), and my father-in-law showed-up with a .50 calibre muzzle loader!

We spent a pleasant afternoon blasting anything that moved, and Georges' muzzle loader brought the cops (What a gigantic cloud of smoke and noise!). The cops plinked-off a few loads too! (We were out of the city limits)

In the end, the only ones we could BBQ were the ones taken by the .22s plus one by the 16 gage. The .50 just left feathers and some skin!

That was 1984. Today I'd probably get arrested for having a shitty attitude, but I sure liked firing that .50! Stay well armed and vigilant, folks............FRegards

[gonzo]

There's a bit more to the swamp story. The aforementioned swamp didn't even exist 50 years ago. It was grassland until they built the Interstate and restricted the drainage.

I bought four .22 rifles and one 16 gage shotgun(Jim B. always wanted a shotgun), and my father-in-law showed-up with a .50 calibre muzzle loader!

We spent a pleasant afternoon blasting anything that moved, and Georges' muzzle loader brought the cops (What a gigantic cloud of smoke and noise!). The cops plinked-off a few loads too! (We were out of the city limits)

In the end, the only ones we could BBQ were the ones taken by the .22s plus one by the 16 gage. The .50 just left feathers and some skin!

That was 1984. Today I'd probably get arrested for having a shitty attitude, but I sure liked firing that .50! Stay well armed and vigilant, folks............FRegards