I think this is the most recent version of the text we used:
100 Venus Flytraps Stolen!!
Poached From The Wild
Just a few weeks ago, in late September 2003, approximately 100 Venus Flytraps were illegally poached from Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve near the Conway/Myrtle Beach area of South Carolina. Anyone with information is urged to call the Department of Natural Resources at 1-800-922-5431. A reward is offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible. The stolen plants may have been illegally exported to Europe where they are very popular. Most will die due to lack of proper care making this is a terrible crime because these plants are limited to a VERY small area in the wild. Venus Flytraps only grow naturally within a 100-mile radius of Wilmington, North Carolina and Wild Venus Flytraps could soon be extinct.
Like the rare and endangered Bog Turtle, carnivorous plants are disappearing from the wild. There are very very few places left to see them in nature due to poaching for profit, habitat destruction, and invasive species. In the United States, humans have irreversibly developed 95% of carnivorous plant wetland habitat. These areas have been drained to form golf courses, tree farms, malls, and housing complexes. Some areas have been mismanaged - fires that occur normally have been prevented or put out. Fire naturally opens back up overcrowded crowded habitats for carnivorous plants that survive by springing back from the submerged roots. Other plants, which escaped from people's gardens, can also crowd out native carnivorous plants in the wild. Here in the Northeast an invasive plant species Purple Loosestrife is destroying marshes and bogs ruining carnivorous plant habitats.
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Wetland Genocide In The South ~ The Green Swamp is in Danger
The Green Swamp, in North Carolina, is an ecosystem second in biodiversity only to the Great Rainforest (a quote from The Nature Conservancy). The Green Swamp is home to Venus Flytraps, Sundews, Pitcher Plants, Butterworts and Bladderworts. 17 different confirmed carnivorous plant species include: Dionaea muscipula, Sarracenia flava, rubra, purpurea, minor, Pinguicula caerulea, lutea, Drosera capillaris, intermedia, filiformis, brevifolia, Utricularia cornuta, juncea, inflata, purpurea, subulata and gibba. In addition to poaching and development, The Green Swamp is facing two enormous threats: 1). The Industrial Paper Company is unmercifully draining this 350,000 acres, has removed the native Long Leaf Pines and hardwoods found in its forested wetlands, and converted this once beautiful place to tree farms and heavy herbicide use with poisonous drift capable of polluting huge areas. 2). A enormous landfill is proposed to be put in the heart of the swamp that will pollute surface and ground water and air of the swamp for eons of time into the future.
"The scariest thing is when you walk in to the swamp and you think how quite and peaceful it is. Then you realize it's too quiet, no birds, squirrels, deer. I have yet to see any live animal other than a few bugs there. This is the only wilderness place I have ever been to and not heard a bird singing. That's something to think about. Most of the land that you see undisturbed is owned by The Nature Conservancy. Thank God that they do or nothing would be left. They burn and manage the land, and try to keep it the way it's supposed to be, full of cp's (carnivorous plants)." Native resident and CP enthusiast, "Ozzy"
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What Can You Do To Help?
Today, there is no need to steal plants from the wild. There are millions of plants that are raised from tissue culture (TC) and greenhouse culture, as well as extra plants raised by other growers like NECPS members. TC and other "captive bred" plants are probably cheaper and more healthy than those that are poached, so there really isn't any reason at all to poach. You should be suspicious if a plant for sale is not labeled and/or the seller will not say where they got it. Be suspicious of inexpensive full-grown plants offered for trade on online auctions - with minimal effort, you can check around and if it seems too good to be true, it might be poached. You need to know where your plants came from for 2 reasons, 1) to eliminate poaching, and 2) so you know how to care for the plant. The more you know about a plant's native growing area, the more you will fight to preserve it. There ARE groups that work to save these places like the International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS), Nature Conservancy, and Sierra Club.
Organizations:
The Appalachian Mountain Club
www.outdoors.org
The Nature Conservancy
www.nature.org
The International Carnivorous Plant Society (ICPS)
www.carnivorousplants.org/index.html
The Sierra Club
www.sierraclub.org
The Swamp Watch Action Team
www.swampwatch.org
Thanks to Ozzy for his help with this. We also had put out a donation can at the October Show for the ICPS conservation fund. Dave Sackett, NECPS treasurer and I talked about the idea of setting aside a percentage from the monthly plant auction sales for the fund also - but we will need to have an official society vote on it.
WildBill