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Lowrie order

  • #21
Emesis,

The seed is wild collected, I'm pretty sure. I don't know who collects the Aussie stuff, but Lowrie trades what he has, for what he does not have, so people all over the world collect naticve seed in their countries and trade with him.
It's a tough, ethical question and we can only hope that the collectors are leaving plenty in the wild. If stuff was never collected from the wild, we would not have anything. Just pray that it's responsable.

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #22
wait, so does this guy wild collect or tend to a wild collection (aka plants cared for in native home located on his own land) I mean, if he sells native plants, he could also easly have an outdoor plantation.
 
  • #23
Griffin,

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">people all over the world collect naticve seed in their countries and trade with him.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

So not only is he possibly reducing the native population, others are possibly doing the same thing in their own part of the world in order to trade w/ him.

I can see if he collects 10-20% of the seed produced, it wouldn't be too detrimental.

I think collecting from the wild reponsibly is necessary for research, but not strickly for profit.
 
  • #25
Have any of you contacted the Australian Government with your concerns? Have any of you asked him himself? This could be some serious libel if you are wrong. Here in America many people say that Germany is exporting biowarfare technology to Saddam. I personally thing they are misinformed, because it seems like just a bunch of speculation.

Really, the man is not here to defend himself! If you wonder about his ethics, don't you think you should have some proof before you implicate him on an international forum? What if they are wild collected and he got a permit? Don't you think Australia is sophisticated enough to run it's own affairs?

When I was in South Africa we were inundated with well meaning but uninformed accusations about how we treated our flora and fauna, and it especially irked us that some of the people leturing us had not much of a record environmentally.
 
  • #26
Can I ask what the difference between "wild collected" and "field collected" are? To me they both seem like the same thing, only "field collected" sounding a little nicer than "wild collected". If they are the same then wouldn't the seeds listed as "field collected" be the only ones that were collected from the wild?
confused.gif
 
  • #27
Folks,
I think Tim is right. I don't think he could run a business with the proper permits, etc. I can see how you would be concerned if he was just some shmoe you met in a chat room, but Mr. Lowrie has an established thing going on here. He has a catalog, for cryin' out loud. While it's possible he's opperating under the radar, it's not likely.
Also, if Mr. Lowrie is anything like us here at PFT, he loves his plants, and would never do anything to harm them.
 
  • #28
Ditto what Tim and Schloaty said,

It would behove people to check things out before making blanket accusations, Australia's import and export rules are orders of magnitude beyond the US and as such it would make it really difficult to get wild collected material out
 
  • #29
This is what Dr. Barry Meyers-Rice had to say today in reply to my inquiry on this subject, which echos my own sentiments.

Hey William,

What I'm about to say can go on the record, no problem. You can post it if you want.

Regarding Allen Lowrie and field collecting in general.
This is not an area with black and white, I think. First off, let me reiterate that I am well known, and justifiably so, as a person who is something of an idealist regarding conservation issues. Anyone who has read my FAQ has seen my rants and tirades about the importance of high
conservation morals. That being said...

Field collection is not universally bad. There are many cases in which the reproductive production of seeds (for example) far outweighs the possible number of seedlings that can be supported at a site. For example, at a Darlingtonia study site of mine, each year the seed production is vast, however there is extremely little seedling activity---nearly all the
reproduction is due to vegetative propagation. (On the other hand, if a wildfire sweeps through, and opens up new habitat, reproduction via might become more dominant.) So whether or not you should feel righteous or condemnable when collecting seed depends upon the situation. And keep
the following corollary in your back pocket---if you are ever unsure, DON'T COLLECT!

Anyway, I certainly would agree that collecting Drosera tubers carries more impact than collecting seed. And I would imagine that for each tuber collected, a number are destroyed by the sharp edges of a trowel. However,
I have never visited Western Australia, and do not know what the population dynamics are like of the plants in this area. For example, are there many tubers produced each year by plants living in disturbance zones (such as along rivers) where a naturally high mortality of tubers is
expected anyway? In this case, field collection might be more easily justified. Is the population small and restricted, with little seed reproduction, and does digging in the soil disturb the cryptogamic crust and soil structure? Then I would certainly advise against field collection.

I simply have not visited the areas, have not botanized with Allen Lowrie, and don't know where the situation lies in the continuum between justifiable and unjustifiable field collection.

I have heard people say both good and bad things about Lowrie. But I've read both good and bad about myself, too! Lowrie is something of a character, and has rubbed some people the right way, some people the wrong way. (Again, the same can be said about myself.)

I will say this, however. Lowrie has done a lot for our understanding and appreciation of the carnivores of Australia. On balance, even if he were crossing the line re: field collection, he's a net asset to the flora of Australia.

If you're worried about this stuff with Lowrie, write him a letter, express your concerns, and mention the species you are interested in. Maybe he'll tell you information that can help you in your assessment on whether to order.

Later!

Barry

------------------------
Barry A. Rice, Ph.D.
Carnivorous Plant Newsletter
Conservation Coeditor
barry@carnivorousplants.org
http://www.carnivorousplants
 
  • #30
Hi,

the informations I got are basically the same Julian (carnivore) posted already. These informations I do trust knowing the people mentioned personally. It is of course up to everyone to make his personal mind up on this topic. I would be very glad to change my mind as soon as ther are supporting facts of course.

I already did know the thoughts of Barry concerning field collecting of seeds and plants from his posts. I won't go into this in detail, but I greatly disagree with Barry on this topic. For me the arguments given do open the door to field collecting way too much.

Joachim
 
  • #31
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I don't think he could run a business with the proper permits, etc.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Sure you could. In the U.S., it's easy to get a permit to open a nursery and collect plants or seeds from public property, esp. when they are not listed under some environmental protection law.

Wild collecting tubers are definitely more detrimental, than collecting seeds. Like Barry Meyer-Rice pointed out, many times germination is low, but what if the germination is high?

The argument fails w/ Lowrie being loving to plants so wild collecting is okay, simply since he trades materials w/ others as the others might not be so "loving". Love can also be blind.

Anyone could come up w/ a catalog. In the 70's and 80's, you could get a VFT from some gag company listed next to the whoopee cushion. Additionally, Barry M-R's FAQ also mentions a nursery that wild collects, and the owners published 2 books.

</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">If they are the same then wouldn't the seeds listed as "field collected" be the only ones that were collected from the wild?[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Both "wild collected" and "field collected" are the same in my book. When there's no "field collected" label associated w/ a species, it could be from non-field collected plant or it also could be from a lack of information from the collector.

Sorry if it sounds like I'm attacking anyone personally, but I'm just trying to point out the possiblities. I personally wouldn't order anything until I gathered more information from Mr. Lowrie regarding the plant material.
 
  • #32
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">When I was in South Africa we were inundated with well meaning but uninformed accusations about how we treated our flora and fauna, and it especially irked us that some of the people leturing us had not much of a record environmentally.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Tim,

It's easy to see others' flaws, and not see your own. At least they were trying to protect the wildlife.

Going off-topic, what do you think of the accusations regarding Sierra Leone's diamond industry? Are they misinformed? You could PM me instead of posting a direct reply here.
 
  • #33
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Emesis @ Feb. 28 2003,05:57)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE"></span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I don't think he could run a business with the proper permits, etc.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>

Sure you could.  In the U.S., it's easy to get a permit to open a nursery and collect plants or seeds from public property, esp. when they are not listed under some environmental protection law.[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
Ah, but we are not dealing with the US. Like I and others have mentioned, Australian rules and regs are a LOT more strict
 
  • #34
Tim,

"It's easy to see others' flaws, and not see your own. At least they were trying to protect the wildlife."

But first you have to take the log out of your own eye to see the fault of others clearly, which is the problem we are dealing with here.


"Going off-topic, what do you think of the accusations regarding Sierra Leone's diamond industry? Are they misinformed? You could PM me instead of posting a direct reply here."

Diamonds are used to finance terror, wars and drugs everywhere as is oil. If I want to buy a diamond for my wife, I will. If I want to fill up my truck, I will. And tonight I may just buy a bottle of French wine to make a statement.
 
  • #35
I can't imagine that Allen Lowrie does not have a facility to grow cp. Is it possible it is not at his home? The man likes his privacy and does not have e-mail(that he gives out, at least). Just recently, a long-time grower from California announced that his greenhouse had been broken into for the second time in a year, and his largest rajah plant were taken among others(this was announced on the ICPS listserve) .
He has know about the plants that were named D. hartmeyerorem(sp?) since at least 1989, and then somebody else describes it as a separate species from D. indica who noticed it later. He has been working at that complex for a long time. If you look at the price list, there are plants ranging from a few cm in height to 60 cm! That is quite a range of size for one species!
I guess all I am saying is I have not heard enough to take a side on this. I applaud all of you that err on the side of caution.

Regards,

Joe
 
  • #36
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">I don't think he could run a business with the proper permits, etc.
<span id='postcolor'>
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">
Sure you could.  In the U.S., it's easy to get a permit to open a nursery and collect plants or seeds from public property, esp. when they are not listed under some environmental protection law.
<span id='postcolor'>
o_O the USA's wildlife protection rules are a bunch of BS made to give large componies the edge.  Yes, I live in the US, and I've read our enviornmental laws and they are so full of BS loopholes it's sickening.  Never, EVER compair another countries export and import laws with the USA's, we have some of the worst on the planet.  And, it should also be noted that Australia has some of the best import and export laws on the planent, and they are ruthlessly inforced.  
smile.gif


-Darcie

P.S. just so you know, I don't feel their is enough fact here to know either way and as far as I can tell, everyone's arguments are just a bunch of heresay, so I remain nutral.
 
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