CP mapping/conservation
Marj Boyer (Marj_Boyer@mail.agr.state.nc.us)
Fri, 06 Dec 96 11:14:59 EST
What great threads the ones about CP conservation and the CP map
database have been!
A major cautionary word about the maps and locality data: For any CP
site that's on private property, LANDOWNER PERMISSION is needed for
the distribution of the information.
The fact that scientists/conservationists/government officials/
anyone-in-the-know have locality information doesn't give them the
right, let alone the obligation, to make the information available to
others, when the sites involved are on private land.
This is a VERY important point for conservation. Saving rare plant
sites often involves very delicate negotiation with landowners, where
any hint of private property rights being violated can make a site
totally unavailable for any conservation action. Even when the
landowners aren't so touchy, they're the ones who have the right to
say who's to get information about their land and who's to be allowed
on it. And let me point out that land owned by private conservation
organizations - The Nature Conservancy, for one - is private land.
Marj Boyer
Yr friendly government-appointed conservationist