“When extinction adjusts the number of species to the land area that remains for the plants, mammals, reptiles, birds and invertibrates of North American (something that will happen within the lifetimes of most of us), we will have lost 95 percent of he species that greeted the Pilgrims” (31).

This quote, towards the end Tallamy’s piece on suburban gardening is intended to wake up he reader and make them realize what has happened to this country over the past 400 years. He goes on to say, as most conservationists will, that we need to change the way we live to not only save ourselves but other species as well. He says that through use of a “reconciliation ecology” we could meet the needs of the millions of species on the planet by simply using native plants in our landscaping.

I thought this piece offered a great reality check for us in that every interaction we have with nature is impactful on a given ecosystem. The fact that a nonnative species being introduced can disturb a whole ecosystem and result in the extinction of any given species does not really cross our mind when we bring it in. This reminded me of the Japanese Knotweed problem we have had on the East Coast.

If we are simply more thoughtful and responsible for leaving things the way we found it in our landscaping we as a planet will be better off in the long run.