Doesn't use of the expression "invasive species" connote so much of what the ideology that gave birth to the ESA and its continued use--that man is responsible for everything and he should be able to do something about it. Which has led to judgment calls by the agencies charged with enforcing the Act. Much as we use the term "invasive species" to describe a species we'd prefer not to have around.
Doesn't the biological, ecological, scientific record of the interaction of the species full of examples of one species taking over the territory of another? Yet we're still somehow resonsible for what the Israelis are doing to stay alive, responsible for what blacks went through during our nation's early days.
Does the book address this idea in any way?
No, I don't object to your having that eucalyptus, as long as you are willing to make sure that it stays on your property. Now, if there is a fire, thousands of seeds will blow over a quarter mile. Are you ready to be accountable for that? Are you ready to post a bond to cover the same event in perpetuity if you sell that property? If not, you are not being accountable for importing that plant.
I would object to that. So you see, it's about accountability for risk. Perhaps it isn't a problem if you import that rhododendron, perhaps it is.