Book Review - Beyond the War on Invasive Species
This is a book that I keep coming back to for insight, ideas and motivation. Motivation to look beyond the existing paradigms in place that deal with ‘invasive’ or unwanted species, ideas for how to adapt to my changing environment and insight into the American psychology of land management as well as into who/ what is the driving force behind the existing paradigms in place.
‘Beyond the War on Invasive Species’ is a beautiful and thoughtful book about ecosystem restoration written by Tao Orion. Using her personal experience in the fields of permaculture, farming and ecosystem restoration as a jumping board to discuss the history of American land management up to the present, Tao’s research takes us deep into the heart of the practice of ecosystem restoration and poses questions that allow us to reflect on what we consider to be valuable in nature and how we define that value.
The book begins with the author’s anecdote about when she realized that ecosystem restoration was a more complicated issue than she once believed. The term ecosystem restoration sounds hopeful and good and important and at the very least benign. And yet what we learn through Tao’s experience is that the type of ecosystem restoration that is employed by local, state and federal governments of the USA is basically unregulated, potentially harmful and questionably moral. Ecosystem restoration as defined by The Society for Ecological Restoration is: “the process of assisting the recovery of an ecosystem that has been degraded, damaged, or destroyed.” We learn that one of the main practices of assisting the recovery of ecosystems here in the USA is to use chemical pesticides. If an ecosystem is assisted with chemical pesticides, intrusive + land-altering machines or biological controls that then themselves become problematic, is it really being assisted or is it being further destroyed? This is one of the important questions that Tao asks and serves as the backbone for the rest of the book. We are then faced with a follow up question: are these practices serving the ecosystem and the human communities that they support or are they a never-ending battle with an inevitable change that had been instigated years before?
This last question introduces us to the whole systems approach, where instead of focusing in on one symptom of change, invasive species, we zoom out to see all the minor, connected causes that lead to these species dominating a new ecosystem. Getting to the root cause of the issue to gain a deeper
understanding leaves room for scientists and citizens alike to think about the best practices to take to work with the remaining members of the ecosystem in order to maintain the life and diversity.
According to Tao, “the most widely accepted definition of an invasive species is one “whose introduction causes economic or environmental harm or harm to human health.”” First one must ask, economic harm to whom? And then Tao takes that definition and turns it on its head reflecting on ways that these non- native invaders can be beneficial to their new homes. And perhaps instead of fighting (an often uphill battle) with them we can adapt along with the rest of the ecosystem and find ways to use these newly settled plants (there are plenty) and value what they have to offer.
She uses specific examples of plants + animals, among them: Spartina grass in Washington, USA, Salt Cedar along the Colorado River, Asian Carp in the Great Lakes, the Brown Tree Snake in Guam, to outline current practices in managing invasive populations as well as to suggest alternate approaches to dealing with the change in landscape. These stories also serve to broaden the conversation to include why these invaders began to thrive in the first place in order to take a whole systems approach to ecosystem restoration.
And, she reminds us, as we grieve the loss of the plants that once thrived in particular ecosystems, we can search for them. Because colonies still do exist, too often on the margins of the land we use, in waste places that are ignored. And when we find them we can be inspired to work for a change in the systems in place that relegated them to those neglected areas in the first place and they can once again attain a place of honor in our lifestyles.
Overall, this book is a brilliant exploration of how using deep thought, permaculture principles and the whole systems approach can change forever how we humans adapt to changing landscapes and how we choose to live in harmony with the rest of the world.