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Hi Chris & All, Apr 28, 2012
I agree Fritz, having a good excuse to terminate this program must =
be a relief to informed CFIA management. It has been nearly 5 years =
since Greg Cunningham effectively admitted that BSLB was essentiall =
harmless; see following paste.
Personally, I am relieved to see this arrant waste of public funds =
terminated.=20
START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\
Dear All, May 17, 2007
A recent article (Chron.Hrld.; May 16) on the Brown Spruce Longhorn =
Beetle includes an explanation, attributed to Greg Cunningham, that =20
"The storm (Juan) created so much ground material that it gave the=20
beetle an ideal opportunity to multiply."
So the admission has finally emerged indirectly that the BSLB can=20
not attack healthy trees. If it could do so then the Juan swath of=20
damaged trees would not have provided this "...ideal opportunity...".
It takes a while sometimes.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
END OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
If they cared to be devious, they could claim that due to prompt and =
effective action by CFIA, the dangerous strain of BLSB was extirpated =
and the remaining beetles are now harmless.
But anyone, including members of the forestry community, who ever =
supposed that BSLB was a genuine threat should take the time to learn =
something about trees. This applies especially to Forest Entomologists =
who, apparently, are not required to have at least a basic comprehension =
of Tree Physiology and Soils.
Yt, Dave Webster, Kentville
----- Original Message -----=20
From: Christopher Majka=20
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca=20
Sent: Friday, April 27, 2012 5:56 PM
Subject: Re: [NatureNS] Beetles, forests, and climate change: =
Exchanging old mistakes for new?
Hi Fritz,=20
It's unlikely that this will save any face for the CFIA; rather the =
opposite. As a knowledgeable colleague of mine, who occupies a high =
position in the forest industry wrote me:
If the whole program is being cut after so much time and money has =
been spent, it=92s hard to see how the CFIA can regain any credibility =
with the forestry community ....
As far as I know, the CFIA have said nothing publicly about this issue =
yet. They will surely not be pleased to have to make such a cut, but =
politically it will be difficult for them to blame the government. All =
such agencies keep having to maintain the illusion that nothing =
essential is being lost through cuts (since saying otherwise is =
politically dangerous), but then that gives the appearance that all the =
BSLB work was non-essential (i.e., superfluous). ;~> Their options are:
a) Declare victory and say nothing further remains to be done; or=20
b) Declare defeat and say that nothing further can be done.
It's not going to be easy for them either way.
Cheers!
Chris
On 25-Apr-12, at 8:40 PM, Fritz McEvoy wrote:
Hi Chris and All,
I wonder if this not only a cost cutting measure but also a face =
saving way for the CFIA to get rid of a program (the Blown Spruce =
Longhorn Beetle Risk Mitigation Program - BSLBRMP) that had become an =
embarrassment to the agency because of all the bad press they had =
received. By eliminating the program as part of a cost cutting exercise =
they can just say their work was done and avoid all those pesky =
questions as to why it was ever begun in the first place. All the best.
Fritz McEvoy
Sunrise Valley, CB
-------------------------------------------------------------------------=
---
From: c.majka@ns.sympatico.ca
To: naturens@chebucto.ns.ca
Subject: [NatureNS] Beetles, forests, and climate change: Exchanging =
old mistakes for new?
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:36:23 -0300
Hi folks,
Many sectors of Canadian society are still in shock, reeling from =
the recent budget cutbacks announced by the federal government. One =
agency hard hit is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). Thus far =
concern has focused around food safety but the CBC has learned of =
another cut to the Brown Spruce Longhorn Beetle program.=20
In this case the CFIA never undertook the research, to establish =
that this species was actually a pest. Consequently, there=92s no =
evidence that biocontrol, containment, eradication, or quarantine =
measures were ever warranted. However, climate change, may be a much =
greater threat to spruce forests and the federal government policy is =
undermining our capacity to investigate this, let alone act upon it.
In the event that this subject is of interest, please feel free to =
check my recent article:
Beetles, forests, and climate change: Exchanging old mistakes for =
new?
=
http://www.behindthenumbers.ca/2012/04/25/bettles-forests-and-climate-cha=
nge-exchanging-old-mistakes-for-new/
Published today by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives.
All the best,
Christopher Majka
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<DIV><FONT size=3D2>Hi Chris & All, =
=20
=
Apr=20
28, 2012</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> I agree Fritz, having a good =
excuse to=20
terminate this program must be a relief to informed CFIA management. It =
has been=20
nearly 5 years since Greg Cunningham effectively admitted that BSLB was=20
essentiall harmless; see following paste.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2> Personally, I am relieved to see =
this=20
arrant waste of public funds terminated. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2>START OF PASTE\\\\\\\\\\\</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Dear =
All, &