Here's something completely non-planning, but I thought you good-hearted
folks would be a good place to start my quest.
I do a lot of work down in the Galapagos Islands (Ecuador). The principal
ecologic problem down there is the introduction and proliferation of exotic
species, which typically out-compete the endemics. Currently, the major
catastrophe is the introduction of goats, which destroy the habitat of the
famed giant tortoise. Alcedo volcano used to be my favorite place on earth
- great volcano, and tens of thousand of the endangered tortoises. But a
geometric population increase in the goat population over the past decade
(<100 to over 10,000 in 10 years) threatens the tortoises and makes the
place the ecological equivalent of a feed lot. The tortoises (not to
mention other endemics) are doomed without serious intervention.
Thus, the good folks of the Charles Darwin Research Station and Galapagos
National Park are systematically hunting the goats. They are looking for
donations of used boots (sizes 7-9 typically), cammo T-shirts, and hunter's
orange caps and vests (hot weather). Right now, the poor hunters have $4
tennis shoes for traversing the barren lava, and there have been several
close calls with the shooting.
If anyone has an old pair of boots or the other stuff they are willing to
donate, I'll take them down to Galapagos with me after Christmas. Let me
know.
Dennis
P.S. The article in Friday's DN (Thanksgiving Friday) on fire danger was
pretty good, but I want to say that they attributed a bunch of "proposals"
and "suggestions" to me that weren't either. I had merely presented some
regulations that other institutions have on the books; I strongly disfavor
many of them. Nonetheless, if anyone has any feedback on the issue of
regulation vs. advise for fire prevention in Latah Co., I'm all ears!
==================================
Dennis Geist, Associate Professor
Geology Dept.
University of Idaho
Moscow, ID 83844
208-885-6491
208-885-5724 (Fax)
dgeist@uidaho.edu
http://www.uidaho.edu/~dgeist/