Glassberg

[Hank & Priscilla Brodkin]

Paul Cavalconte wrote:
> 

  It is in this spirit that many watching-groups are
> formed, and why I personally must always stay at arm's length from them.
> It's true, except for the most insufferably zealous, most of these
> organizations make some kind of collecting-as-necessary-evil  statement, but
> rather like the maitre'd who asks if you prefer to be seated in smoking,
> non-smoking or anti-smoking?
> 


While it is true most members of NABA come from bird watching groups
(and I can only speak about our chapter, SEABA) most of our folks
certainly do NOT seek to discourage or disparage collecting.  Many of
our (most knowledgeable) members are collectors.  Our Board has one
professional entomologist and our President and Vice President are
Docents at the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum.  I keep a net at my back
door and have it handy in my automobile.  If I see something unusual I
catch it (if I can - I am not the most coordinated person in world),
pinch it, and turn it over to Rich Bailowitz who keeps track of our
records down here.

NABA is a large (4000 member) organization.  But it is not a
dictatorship.  Jeff has his beliefs (though I am not quite sure what
they are regarding collecting at this point - I wish he would clarify it
once and for all).  And we all know without collectors there would be no
NABA or butterfly field guides or butterfly experts and no American
Butterflies Magazine - most of whose articles are written by collectors.


Some folks might not want to collect for whatever reason - mine is I
don't think I would be very good at it.  Some folks might not like to
photograph butterflies in the wild.  As long as both of these activities
are legal - maybe we should lay off each other.

I am indebted to Jeff for opening up a whole new world to my wife and
I.  Unless we wish to hear "so what" from the general public every time
an endangered species is put on the list we might consider joining
together instead of this endless and useless wrangling about one man's
opinion. A start might be to support NABA's Butterfly Preserve on the
Rio Grande.  No, you won't be able to collect on the Preserve.  But it
certainly will help as resevoir for the many species that move up and
down the river and out to the surrounding countryside where collecting
might be allowed.  But that is a whole other subject.

 

-- 
	             Hank & Priscilla Brodkin
	          Carr Canyon, Cochise County, AZ
                   Send Mailto:hankb at theriver.com
             SouthEast Arizona Butterfly Association
          http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasa/home.html
         "Butterflies of Arizona - a Photographic Guide" 
           by Bob Stewart, Priscilla and Hank Brodkin 
         http://www.naba.org/chapters/nabasa/book.html

 
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