The Earth is changing fast. Climate change is accelerating like nothing humans have witnessed. How are we to avert the 6th great extinction event that is looming over the not-too-distant horizon?
What happens when our native species are no longer adapted to their native ranges?
I don't think the scientific establishment has reckoned with the cruel realities of climate change. It's happening now and quicker than the general consensus of scientists had projected.
In the not-so-distant future, all the labels we've placed on plants will be irrelevant. The term "native" will no longer matter. Plants and whole ecosystems will either naturally migrate to new places or they will perish. Natural selection will not have enough time to ensure these ecosystems remain intact in their historical ranges. This is not my opinion; if you are at all following the science, great changes are ahead for Mother Earth.
But we humans have powers beyond any other species. We can move plants to new places. And we have been doing this for thousands of years. Ever since our ancestors first realized the principles of agriculture, we've been assisting species migration. And it didn't just begin with European colonization.
If you don't believe this, consider the case of Australia's top mammal predator, the dingo. Dingos aren't present in the fossil record before 4000 years ago. Did they swim there? No, domestic dogs were brought over by Asian sailors. But the dingo has transformed during that time. 4000 years has supposedly been enough time for conservationists to classify it as a "native species."
You might ask, "Why even bring up this topic?" I strongly feel that most conservationists have their heads in the sand. Assisted migration goes against all the major tenets of ecology and conservation. Most cling to the long-held belief that human intervention in biological systems should be kept at a minimum. For simplicity's sake, the general attitude has been nature = good, humans = bad. I know some conservationists hold different views, but until the last few years, those who advocate for human-assisted migration have largely been marginalized.
Conservationists will argue that moving any species to a different region could have unintended consequences. Of course, it could! I see this argument as a "straw man" diversional tactic... just because an action could have detrimental effects doesn't mean that the whole principle of assisted migration should be thrown out. Everything we do has both negative and postive consequences. What matters is whether these efforts cause more "harm" than good. And no one knows the answer.
I feel the conservation movement fails to acknowledge and grasp that the whole biosphere is disrupted by humans at this point. From the deepest Amazonian jungles to the interior of Antarctica, there is not a single place on Earth that hasn't been affected by our presence. If you want to learn more about this topic in much greater depth than I can provide, I urge you to read Rambunctious Garden: Saving Nature in a Post-Wild World by Emma Marris. She provides many real-world examples of how humans have "disrupted" nature and how nature responds and transforms despite it.
Another argument against assisted migration is that it can introduce new pathogens or insects that can affect related species. This is often mentioned when talking about the Florida Torreya and the Eastern Hemlock. The thought is that whatever is affecting Torreya could potentially affect Hemlock. This is a valid concern, yet it doesn't seem to consider that Hemlock is already teetering on extinction because of the wooly adelgid. Not to mention, Florida Torreya has been planted on private lands for over a hundred years in the Appalachians. If you want to learn more about efforts to re-wild Torreya into the Appalachians, check out Connie Barlow on YouTube.
I'll end this rant with this statement: Assisted migration is happening regardless of whether we like it or not because private landowners can plant whatever they want, and these lands are often connected to national and state forests! Everything you plant in your yard has the potential to move to a "natural" area. We can't control the birds, deer, or any other creature that spreads seeds.
If we don't make a concerted effort to re-wild rare and threatened species to more hospitable habitats, we will doom these species to extinction in their current ranges.
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