Western environmental law rests on an outdated philosophy that only
fully “natural” places, species, and ecosystems should receive full
protection, while human influenced places, species, and ecosystems are
lesser habitats not worthy of full-throated protection. 

This Article examines management of nonnative species to illustrate
the problems with using the false dichotomy between nature and humanity
to determine what is environmentally good or environmentally bad.

... the broad narrative of evil invasive species obfuscates
something important—many nonnative species offer important cultural,
economic, and environmental benefits that outweigh their negative impacts. 

Guest species meet human needs and wants and offer environmental benefits, but our
environmental laws and administrative decisions fail to honestly address
the costs and benefits of welcoming these species. I conclude that we must,
in limited cases, welcome guest as valuable ecosystem components worthy of protection. 

GUEST SPECIES: RETHINKING OUR APPROACH TO BIODIVERSITY IN THE ANTHROPOCENE
© 2018 Karrigan Börk. Ph.D. in Ecology (Conservation Biology), U.C. Davis

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