We (NASC) are working on setting up a network so that anybody can contact one of us and we will get the ball rolling. We have even discussed a plan that will allow a member of the NASC to have permissions and legal rights to rescue plants within hours or even minutes. Of course that will be for emergency situations only. Here is a combination of a plan I would like to set up and what has already been discussed.
Our first priority is to keep as many plants on the original sites as possible. Removal of plants will be a last resort. To do this we need people find as many sites as they can and manage those sites. We need property owners permission to do this. So we will have to work with the property owners not against them. I plan to get a contract drawn up that will allow the person on the property, and just make sure that they plants stays healthy and monitor any threats. In this contract it will clearly state that the land owner is in control at all times, the land owner can at any time ask us to leave. That way the land owner never feels pressured. I think we can build relation ships with the owners and then gain their trust. If we do this we will in the end have more freedom to do as we please on their property.
If we at any time find a threat to some plants on the property, we try to find a solution. As an example, I'll use a situation of a piece of land that I have found some D.brevifolia. It's a vegetable and fruit farm. There is an irrigation pond and a dirt road runs all the way around it. Around one corner is where the D.brevifolia grows. They grow from the pond to the edge of the road. A lot of them have been ran over because of trucks and equipment driving through the area. In this case I would go to the owner and ask if we could build a fence to protect them at our expense. If the answer is no, I would then ask if we can move the plants. D.brevifolia are almost impossible to relocate, it's just an example.
If a member runs across a site with bulldozers on site, and there is no other options but to remove the plants, we will have a form already printed out and sent with the membership package. There will be a list of phone numbers of board members on the form. The NASC member will first call one of the board members and discuss the situation. If it is decided that the plants should be removed the member will try to get the person in charge of the construction to sign the form giving us permission to collect. If possible the form will be faxed to the board member, the board member will sign, and fax it back. If there are no fax machines nearby, the board member can give oral permission to collect and the sign the form later.
If it is not an emergency situation but the site will be developed, we are thinking that we will get two board members to agree to collect and then sign it.
These rules are not set in stone yet. They are just ideas for now. I welcome any ideas that anybody else has. If you have an idea either post it here or pm me.
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Wow Tre, sounds as if you have some experience here. Yes, wives deprived of access to their husband's credit cards can get rather grumpy.
Yeah that may make them grumpy, but they are grumpy any way, and it's better that they are just grumpy, then grumpy and broke.