Anyone else? Possible positive effect of Burms in Florida?

[JLC]

I may not have the most popular view on this...but what the hell....here goes anyhow....

I get a little frustrated at all the hysteria about the burms in the Everglades...from all sides. Of course the fear mongerers want to blow everything so far out of proportion it's ridiculous and merges into outright lies. But even well meaning herp lovers and conservationists sometimes get all bent out of shape about the issue. And it's that angst that I don't really get.

Yes, I understand that they're not "native" to the area, but how many other well-established creatures are also imported from around the world? Tons...and they've been coming across on ships since the first explorers found the Americas and started traveling here. And not just the Everglades, but all over the world. Sometimes, humans aren't even involved...animals and organisms find all sorts of ways to travel and find new territories and new ways of passing on their genetics to the next generation. They don't care who was there first or if they "belong" there.

The world has NEVER been some kind of static space where every bit of flora and fauna had its particular boundary that it was not allowed to cross. Since the dawn of time, creation or evolution or whatever you believe in, plants and animals and all organisms, have been shifting, moving, evolving, and learning to adapt and fit in wherever they find themselves, and learning to adapt and fit in with whatever else moves in. Thousands upon thousands of species have gone extinct...and humans are only responsible for a tiny fraction of that number. It's just the circle of life.

I DO believe we should do our best to be good stewards of this amazing world. I believe it's what we're here to do. And I believe we should do what we can to prevent invasive species from gaining a foothold, if/when we can. But there is a balance to all of that, as there should be in everything we do. And to be so closed-minded and hard headed as to insist there can be no single benefit to a new species in a particular part of the world just seems...silly....to me. Not to mention a very stress-filled way to live life.