The alien invaders are threatening to take over
Unless we eradicate them all the natives will be goners
That’s the message I hear repeated almost universally
That conclusion I am beginning to question.
A story in the local paper features our nearby nature
preserve
Listing many unwanted plants but nothing there is native
In the sense that it has been there longer than my lifetime
What was a celery farm and before that a peat bog.
The attempt to restore native plants is a form of gardening
As if there is a static state in nature anywhere in the
world
But considering it hasn’t rained in weeks the pond is drying
up
Exposing the mud that is soon sprouting new green.
You might say that new growth is invading the pond
What changes whether or not the plant is native or alien?
Are not the native deer invasive thriving in the suburban
setting
Browsing the native plants while leaving the aliens?
Then the problem is the native species
Though the ecology is complex and nuanced
Some aliens are harmful and some are beneficial
Some natives are beneficial and some are harmful.
The flora and fauna everywhere are dynamic and evolving
Some newcomers will thrive and some hybrids will happen
Biodiversity may increase though some species will be lost
In the Anthropocene we encourage a new outlook.
The conservation ethic that wants to defend the natives
Against the marauding invaders has a xenophobic echo
Ironic when raised by the descendants of European immigrants
Who inflicted genocide on the native people living here.
Who brought other invaders with them besides disease
Sowing alien seeds in the ploughed fields
Importing horses, cattle, sheep, pigs and all
While cutting down the forests and fouling the rivers.
Though going back in history around the world
Our entire species is the dominant invasive species
Causing extinctions that will peak with climate change
I am sympathetic to humanity and optimistic for life.
For who would say the result of our presence is all bad?
Our population growth is a measure of success
And when the social good not private profit rules
Surely we will find a way to harmonize with nature.
