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Natural Awakenings Central New Jersey

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Cactus Poachers Are Denuding Deserts

Cactus plant

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More than 30 percent of the world’s 1,500 or so cactus species are threatened with extinction, and criminal scavengers are primarily to blame. A 2020 seizure by authorities in Italy yielded more than 1,000 of some of the rarest cactuses in the world, valued at more than $1.2 million on the black market. Some were over 100 years old. President of the Association for Biodiversity and Conservation Andrea Cattabriga helps police identify specimens taken from tourists or intercepted in the mail. He says, “Here is an organism that has evolved over millions of years to be able to survive in the harshest conditions you can find on the planet, but that finishes its life in this way, just as an object to be sold.” Trafficking can take a serious toll because many species are highly localized and often extremely slow-growing, thus quite sensitive to over-harvesting.

Cactuses and other succulents have become popular on social media, promoted by indoor plant influencers for their unusual appearance and minimal care requirements. The pandemic has increased their popularity, with shops unable to keep some species in stock. Sales of legally sourced plants could help offset illegal trade, with the proceeds going directly to communities living alongside the plants, creating an incentive to protect them.

Tick Talk

Spring officially sprung on March 21. We have turned our clocks ahead. We are looking forward to warm winds, sunny skies and the smell of fresh cut grass. The daffodils and tulips have recently bloomed and we are just starting with the yard work that comes with the warmer weather.  Sadly, another season has started ramping up.  Tick season.

•             The best form of protection is prevention. Educating oneself about tick activity and how our behaviors overlap with tick habitats is the first step.

•             According to the NJ DOH, in 2022 Hunterdon County led the state with a Lyme disease incidence rate of 426 cases per 100,000 people. The fact is ticks spend approximately 90% of their lives not on a host but aggressively searching for one, molting to their next stage or over-wintering. This is why a tick remediation program should be implemented on school grounds where NJ DOH deems high risk for tick exposure and subsequent attachment to human hosts.

•             Governor Murphy has signed a bill that mandates tick education in NJ public schools. See this for the details.  Tick education must now be incorporated into K-12 school curriculum. See link:

https://www.nj.gov/education/broadcasts/2023/sept/27/TicksandTick-BorneIllnessEducation.pdf

•             May is a great month to remind the public that tick activity is in full swing. In New Jersey, there are many tickborne diseases that affect residents, including Anaplasmosis, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme disease, Powassan, and Spotted Fever Group Rickettsiosis.

•             For years, the focus has mainly been about protecting ourselves from Lyme disease. But other tick-borne diseases are on the rise in Central Jersey. An increase of incidence of Babesia and Anaplasma are sidelining people too. These two pathogens are scary because they effect our blood cells. Babesia affects the red blood cells and Anaplasma effects the white blood cells.

•             Ticks can be infected with more than one pathogen. When you contract Lyme it is possible to contract more than just that one disease. This is called a co-infection. It is super important to pay attention to your symptoms. See link.

https://twp.freehold.nj.us/480/Disease-Co-Infection

A good resource from the State:

https://www.nj.gov/health/cd/topics/tickborne.shtml

 

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