Flora of North America program suspended

Biological Conservation 6(1): 71, Jan. 1974

Conservation Around the Worm

for useful purposes, such as winter-time agriculture, or even for the raising of tropical fish in northern waters. However--as the Oyster Creek episode shows --such projects may be fraught with disaster if the heat source is temporarily removed. KALMANWAGENHEIM,

Public Affairs Division, Environmental Protection Agency, Regional Office H, 26 Federal Plaza, New York, N.Y. 10007, USA

FLORA OF NORTH AMERICA PROGRAM SUSPENDED

An integrated inventory of the vascular plants of North America (north of Mexico) is needed as a major aid to basic environmental research and education, and to wise resource management. Through initial action of the Council of the American Society of Plant Taxonomists, and support of the Smithsonian Institution, the American Institute of Biological Sciences, and the US National Science Foundation (NSF), the project conceived in 1965 evolved into a creative, shaping force in phytotaxonomy while still in its planning stage (cf. Roy L. Taylor, 'The Flora North America project', BioScience, 21, pp. 521-3, 1971). The Flora North America Program (FNA) was only implemented fully in October 1972, when the NSF, Canada Department of Agriculture, and National Research Council of Canada, provided funds to create seven satellite editorial units across Canada and USA, with headquarters and systems development at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, D.C., USA. FNA defined rigorous standards of precision for recording taxonomic data as it pioneered in adapting the computer to store the characteristics of this continental flora in a Data Bank which would permit retrieval of information in many new ways. A synoptical Flora of the area would have been published in 1978, and long-range plans for the Data Bank included expansion of the computer files to other geographical areas. Since October 1972, FNA had received indications of participation, as contributors or reviewers, from some 600 botanists throughout the world. Communication from this synthesis of talent had already revealed new interpretations of plants in the area. However, the financial austerity of Mr Nixon's new presidential term effectively terminated the Program in late January of 1973, when the US Office of Manage-

71

ment and Budget prohibited the Smithsonian Institution from seeking FNA funds in Congress, and thus the NSF was compelled to withdraw also its support (cf. Science, N. Y., 179, p. 778, 1973). FNA formally suspended operations in early February and disbanded its staff, although its Program Council continues to seek alternative financing. With Flora S S S R completed in 1964, lconographia Cormophytorum Sinicorum started in 1972, and Flora Europaea half-finished in 1972, North America is the major north-temperate region without a compendium of its flora or even one in prospect. FNA was also incorporated in the USA-USSR agreement on studies of rare and endangered species negotiated in Moscow in January 1973. The fate of FNA emphasizes the feeling with which many of us left the Stockholm conferences of June 1972: awareness of needs for the environment is yet small in a world that is increasingly imperilled. BRUCE MACBRYDE,

(FNA Associate Editor, UBC), Research Associate, Botanical Garden, University of British Columbia, Vancouver B.C. V6T 1 W5, Canada.

SEA TURTLES IN SEYCHELLES

When explored by the French in the middle of the eighteenth century, the Seychelles Islands were the source of vast numbers of marine turtles. This fact became well known, and many subsequent French colonists became involved in the capture and export of turtles and 'chelonian' products. Exploitation and export continued--virtually unchecked--for over two centuries, throughout the period of French rule (until 1810) and, subsequently, most of the continuing period of British rule. Warnings of the effect of overexploitation were given out as early as 1774 by M. de Boyne, and other enlightened Frenchmen followed suit, pleading for the protection of natural resources. However, little heed seems to have been paid to their far-sighted requests. Finally, after nearly a century of British rule, protective legislation began to be enacted, but, from the numerous reports made by specialists, it is clear that the laws had little effect on the situation. This is not surprising, for the important turtle populations were on outer islands. The expenditure of funds for remote islands (to ensure the intelligent exploitation and management of resources) was not warranted in the eyes of the government; there was little effort to