Solutions

 

 

Text Box:            Even though the situation Sarracenia are in seems dire and almost hopeless, there is hope. There are many organizations in the US and some that are international that are solely dedicated to protecting carnivorous plants. Some of these include the International Carnivorous Plant Society, the North American Sarracenia Conservancy, and the Florida Carnivorous Plant Society. Some other larger groups like the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and the Nature Conservancy also actively participate in conserving Sarracenia and Sarracenia habitat.

The nonprofit organization I contacted was the North American Sarracenia Conservancy (NASC). The NASC is actively involved in many Sarracenia conservation efforts. First, they have established a seed bank along with an ex-situ conservation program. The organization has designated Sarracenia growers around the US. These are people that have presented evidence of having the necessary experience in to grow Sarracenia successfully under their methods and location. These volunteers receive collected Sarracenia or seed from the seed bank. All seed or plants are specifically labeled and identified with a horticultural tag. The tag identifies the species or hybrid parentage of the Sarracenia as well as its location data (where the plant or seed was collected). The growers grow the plants and if the NASC ever conducts a reintroduction, Text Box:  these plants may be used to be placed back into the wild.

Additionally, the NASC stresses in-situ conservation, even though it is increasingly difficult as time goes by. Whenever possible the organization makes landowners aware of threatened Sarracenia that are found on their properties to prevent development. When development is not prevented, the NASC and other organizations work in conjunction with state authorities to remove Sarracenia and other threatened carnivorous plants from the area. The plants then go into the ex-situ conservation program.

The NASC also works to educate the public about Sarracenia and other conservation issues. Again, this is done through volunteers and presentations are done in libraries, elementary schools, and other locations. To raise money the organization holds online auctions that depend solely on the donations of carnivorous plant hobbyists. In the past, proceeds from the annual auctions has gone to aid the efforts in preserving two prime Sarracenia habitat locations, Myrtle Head Savannah Reserve in North Carolina and the Splinter Hill Bog Reserve in Alabama.

Lastly, Mark Todd of the NASC recently worked in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy and the North Carolina Botanical Garden in North Carolina to reintroduce both Venus Flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) and Sarracenia that had previously been poached. The plants were Text Box:  recovered from an illegal vendor and spent one year recovering at the Chapel Hill Botanic Gardens. This reintroduction, though, offered a chance to perform an new experiment. The volunteers treated the plants with a long-lasting colorless dye that glows under UV light (blacklighting). The treatment was executed in order to easily identify poached plants in the future. If a plant is suspected of being a poached plants at a plant sale (for example), all officials have to do is use a blacklight to confirm if the plant was collected from the wild. If the plant was stained, it will glow. This treatment process is relatively new, however.

 

 

 

 

 

ßBack

 

àNext Page