In his April 8 speech at the Science in Wildland Weed Management Symposium in Denver, Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt comes totally unglued:

Each year noxious weeds wreak a level of havoc on America's environment and economy that is matched only by the damage caused by floods, earthquakes, mud slides, hurricanes, and fire. Weeds infest 100 million acres in the United States and are spreading at a rate of 14 percent per year. They diminish or cause the extinction of native plants and animals. They homogenize the diversity of creation. They ignore borders and property lines. No place is immune.

Consider the damage done by purple loosestrife, a beautiful, seemingly harmless flower one might be pleased to find in a meadow. But not for long. This species, found in thirty-six states, costs $45 million to manage.

In the past it was much easier to dismiss the invasion as someone else's problem. And so the weeds—slowly, silently, almost invisibly, but steadily—spread all around us until, literally encircled, we can no longer turn our backs. The invasion is now our problem. Our battle. Our enemy.

Each day new cargo ships arrive in American ports, and new shipments of tropical plants are sold on the open market. Obviously, we cannot and should not shut down global trade in an effort to grind the weed invasion to a halt. But what we can do is prepare for the invasion early and thoroughly.

Last June the vice president asked Agriculture Secretary Daniel Glickman, Commerce Secretary William Daley, and me to draw up an action plan. It is a heavy task, but one big thing helps us: The invasion and spread of noxious alien weeds unites us. It unites across political, economic, and property boundaries. It brings solidarity among opposing groups. It compels us to share strategic responses. It calls on us to rise above our sometimes petty day-to-day concerns.

Invasive alien species will never have the power to capture the imagination, the headlines, or the nightly news in the same way El Niño has. But we can do something about it. For I have seen the spread of weeds from the Great Lakes to the Everglades to Glacier National Park. I recognize the dangers. And my resolve and determination only harden.

We must act now and act as one. We can beat a threat that erodes our soil, spreads wildfire, and damages our property values. We can beat this silent enemy.

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