NOT the collecting debate :-)

[DR. JAMES ADAMS]

Dear Anne, Mike, and listers,

         A second rereading of my message made me realize that I 
may have come across a little too strongly.  Hey, it was late at 
night when I wrote the message about collecting/non-collecting.  I 
doubt there's anyone who hasn't had an occasional emotional 
outburst, and I also agree with Anne that we all probably have our 
own little hypocritical idiosyncracies (what a mouthful!).

	I want you all to realize that I do not condone irresponsible 
collecting anymore than I condone ignorant laws that overrestrict.  I 
was simply trying to state that collecting done in a responsible 
manner is microscopically consumptive when compared with 
everyday life, and certainly when compared to habitat manipulation. 
This is especially true when dealing with the organisms near and 
dear to our heart, which have such high reproductive and fast 
turnover capabilities.  I basically don't collect butterflies at all 
anymore -- it is not because I think it shouldn't be done, but I have 
no need to collect them because I have studied what I feel I need to 
study about them.  I am working very hard on establishing an 
extensive slide collection of as many species as I possibly can.  
That isn't to say that if I'm in a new area for me that I wouldn't 
swing a net at some butterfly I haven't seen before.  

	I also agree with both Anne and Mike Quinn, whose approach 
to all of this is very similar to mine -- we all have a role to play, with 
the most important being education and outreach. There is no need 
to step on someone elses toes -- both responsible collecting and 
well documented "watching" (with photographs) can contribute 
significantly to our understanding of organisms.  What leads to 
problems is when someone starts trying to force their ideas on 
someone else, giving the impression that their way is the only 
"right" way.  Let's stop now!

        James

Dr. James K. Adams
Dept. of Natural Science and Math
Dalton State College
213 N. College Drive
Dalton, GA  30720
Phone: (706)272-4427; fax: (706)272-2533
U of Michigan's President James Angell's 
  Secret of Success: "Grow antennae, not horns"