Dear Conch-Lers,

This posting has been forwarded a couple of times, first from ENTOMO-L
(insect discussion group), then from PERMIT-L at the Smithsonian. It fits
right in with the discussion on live-shelling restrictions and related issues.

>Forwarded from ENTOMO-L. Posted originally by Dave
Almquist
><[log in to unmask]>
>
>Does anyone know of a place (park, preserve, country,
state) that has found a way to restrict raping and pillaging
of >insects/environment, but still not making it restrictive
to gaining knowledge from collecting insects in the area?

Dave and others,

I think we have to face the fact that, at least in the US,
all land will eventually be either (1) private, developed or
not, or (2) public parks and reserves on which collecting
will be difficult or impossible.  I've seen restrictive
policies about insect collecting initiated in state parks,
for example, in numerous states, when at earlier times it
was the last thing anyone would have thought of doing.  It's
presumably being done to protect the insects, but of course
it doesn't have that effect, as collectors are the most
inconsequential cause of insect mortality that one could
imagine (and this is true of all taxa except those from
which financial gain can be realized, such as butterflies
for hobbyists and herps as pets).  Because of this constant
attrition of our *civil rights* as scientists and
enthusiasts, we have to get our act together and develop
ways to influence all the institutions that run these parks
and preserves.  At least in my state (Washington), we have
huge national forests where a museum person can collect
everything from mammals to microbes (even birds!), but I
would guess the land area on which scientific collecting
(professional or amateur) can be pursued has diminished
dramatically over time in all states, and I suspect it will
only get harder to get permits for the areas that remain,
unless something turns around.

The Ohio paradigm should be held up as an example of a
sensible way to blend conservation and research, and liberal
permits should be routinely issued to scientific and
educational institutions and relatively easy to get for
amateur collectors who are clearly contributing to science.

I studied shorebirds for years, and some of my research
involved collecting, but by a few years ago I had lost all
the places where I could legally collect specimens of this
group, which caused me to stop the shorebird research and
shift to dragonflies.  But there are many places where one
must acquire permits to collect dragonflies now, sometimes
easily, sometimes with prolonged jumping through hoops until
one gets weary and stops trying.  This of course is most
pronounced in developing countries, most of which are in the
"difficult" category, some in the "impossible" category, as
they strive to protect their biological patrimony against
foreigners.  Dragonfly "expeditions" are now being mounted
to the few remaining tropical countries where one can
actually get a permit.  The only consequence of this that I
can see will be a diminished knowledge of biodiversity all
around the world, just when we need the opposite.

Dennis Paulson, Director                           phone
253-879-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History                 fax
253-879-3352
University of Puget Sound                       e-mail
[log in to unmask]
Tacoma, WA 98416
http://www.ups.edu/biology/museum/museum.html