Ah, yes, I know all about this mess. It has been discussed and rehashed to
death in my orchid newsgroup. Mr. Kovach was also indicted, but I haven't been
able to get hold of all the newspaper articles, so I don't know exactly what
happened to him.
First of all, the main reason for the hoo-ha was that Eric Christenson sicced
the federal government on Selby to get revenge because they fired him.
Secondly, remember that all the paperwork regulations in the world, both US and
CITES, do not save species, especially plants, as long as habitat destruction
continues. All the regulations do is to encourage smugglers to collect the
orchids illegally.
Third, the rules of taxonomy are independent of politics, & I hope they stay
that way. Phragmipedium kovachii was legally named according to the
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature. I very much doubt that the
botanical authorities will change the name. Are you going to change the name of
Blighia becuse Admiral Bligh was a convicted sadist?
Bottom line: why is the US government wasting the taxpayer's money on nonsense
when our meat is inadequately inspected and the No Child Left Behind Act is
underfunded?
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)