The question isn’t whether the aliens have landed. Fact is, they are here in the U.S., they number in the thousands of species, and they are increasingly disruptive: causing extinctions, spreading disease, harming forests, and contributing to ecological instability. And we are enabling them. The real question is… what are we going to do about it?

Webster provides perspective.  Alien means foreign… non-native… not belonging… differing in nature or character typically to the point of incompatibility. The term often refers to exotic invasive species which are introduced, usually by accident, and subsequently run amok. On the other end of the scale is native, which simply means living or growing naturally in a particular region … fitting in. With such self inflicted problems as rising temperatures and loss of species eroding our future, there is an urgent need… to fit in. We are, after all, dependent on a healthy functioning ecosystem.

Our ancestors came to North America, largely from Europe. In just a couple centuries we’ve changed the landscape from pristine wilderness to cities, agriculture, monoculture lawns, and pavement… and in the process we’ve introduced a plethora of alien Eurasian weeds. The gardening industry is part of this problem. They’ve been importing alien plants for decades for people who want unique landscapes. Besides displacing native plants they’ve inadvertently unleashed their Eurasian pests, which in some cases, are disastrous to our native plants. Examples are many, including: chestnut blight, emerald ash borer, Dutch elm disease, beech bark disease, and garlic mustard, just to name a few.

In 1905, Liberty Hyde Bailey (Dean of Cornell) very aptly described nature as “the norm.”  “If nature is the norm then the necessity for correcting and amending abuses of civilization becomes baldly apparent by very contrast…To live in right relation with his natural conditions is one of the first lessons that a wise farmer or any other wise man learns.” For better or worse we are integral components of this biotic community, with which we need to “live in right relation.” What we do to the land we do to ourselves. It is absolutely imperative that we become native in our own land… that is, fit in.

But becoming native is a tall order. To start with agricultural researcher, Wes Jackson, said that becoming native has never been a national goal of ours, but now that it’s almost too late, we’ve begun to perceive the necessity, to take Dr. Jackson seriously.

One of our biggest obstacles has been our misunderstanding of what wealth is. It isn’t about bulging wallets, large fancy homes, new vehicles, and private jets. Real wealth is found in clean surface and ground water, healthy living soil, clean air, and our own well being, which is a function of a healthy environment. Our culture has for too long seen the land, the trees, the animals, the minerals… as commodity. The result has been devastating.  Some 95 percent of the pristine living native landscape (that supports us) has been “liquidated,” consumed, converted to agriculture, or paved over. The direct relationship between biodiversity and wild land suggests that, unless we repair the damage, we will gradually see the proportional loss of 95 percent of the flora and fauna that greeted the pilgrims when they landed at Plymouth Rock.

In 1973 E.F. Schumacher wrote a book titled, “Small Is Beautiful.” It’s about ‘economics as if people mattered.’  It’s time we all learn to think small. Starting with the choice of a house… a smaller home consumes less land, provides adequate space, and modest amount of air to heat and cool. “Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”  E.F. Schumacher

Agricultural models need to change from the alien trend of the factory, …making the land pay and pay for some raw greed no wise or wary regard for land could satisfy…  (paraphrase of cowboy poet, Buck Ramsey), back to family farms. The wealth produced by farmers should not be dollars wrung from the land and gathered by distant shareholders, but rather healthy “organic” produce raised on a sustainable landscape characterized by clean water and air.

“What we must think about is an agriculture with a human face. We must give standing to the new pioneers, the homecomers bent on the most important work for the next century – a massive salvage operation to save the vulnerable but necessary pieces of nature and culture and to keep the good and artful examples before us. It is time for a new breed of artists to enter front and center, for the point of art, after all, is to connect. This is the homecomer I have in mind: the scientist, the accountant who converses with nature, a true artist devoted to the building of agriculture and culture to match the scenery presented to those first European eyes.”   Wes Jackson

If you’re not into agriculture, there are some practical steps to become native. It starts, not surprisingly in our own yards. Your backyard is a great starting point to set out on a journey of ecological discovery, and a place where you can truly make a meaningful contribution.  Odds are the plants in most home landscapes are alien to this country, and support very little life. Enhance your home landscape with the addition of native trees, shrubs, and flowers. This is how we can all contribute to saving America’s precious flora and fauna.

There’s an excellent book by Dr. Doug Tallamy, “Bringing Nature Home.  It is an artful statement of the why, the how, and the joys of going native in your landscape.  Google Doug Tallamy and you can see several of his lectures and interviews on YouTube.  Here’s an example:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFZgOVszhi0

“Wisdom is oft-times nearer when we stoop
Than when we soar.”
“Come forth into the light of things, Let Nature be your teacher.”   

William Wordsworth