the need for more, not less.....

[Martin Dube]

Everybody who has been collecting specimens for some years in a given
area probably is well aware of the facts mentioned by Dennis Paulson.
Natural destructive factors can more or less gradually erase some
sites.  At the same time, conservation parks do not necessarily help in
getting deeper knowledge what is intended to be protected.  Many of
my sampling sites first visited more than 15 years ago are now located in
such parks.  In certain cases, the change of status is resulting in
the disappearance of the populations from anthropogenic places
established since long.  In other cases, however, threatened natural
populations are now recovering to an unsurpassed level.  But, without
drastic factors,  populations are surprisingly stable over the years
(I am working on a perennial grass).

In those days, I manage to collect without witness.  Why ?  Because
the perception of many peoples is that one is wasting nature in doing
that.  And this has often nothing to do with what you are
collecting !  At the same time, much more peoples are interested in
nature (remember twenty years ago), including many peoples with good
intentions but not enough educated.  So, I try to stay unseen while
collecting to avoid giving bad example too.
Not really easy to be taxonomist !

Martin