Where’s
the Prize?
The GGNRA Big Year contest is receiving considerable and unwarranted publicity
as of late. This article explores the mistruths propagated by the events organizers.
It is ubiquitous. It has been all over the Bay Area news. You heard about it
on NPR. You've seen the billboards. You've been handed the fliers. Yes, perhaps every conceivable way an event can be promoted
has been exploited by the GGNRA Big Year contest organizers. But what is really behind this mass media propaganda blitz?
First, the entire premise of the Big Year is patently false. The contest portends
as its stated objective the complete recovery of the 33 endangered species that at one time or another called the GGNRA home.
In reality, most of these 33 species have been extirpated and will never be found in the GGNRA, or on the planet for that
matter, again. Others, like the humpback whale, are transients at best, and in fact have never called the GGNRA their home
base. But details like this don't concern the Big Year event organizers. The propaganda they are spewing is having its desired
effect. The extremists behind the contest really only care about one thing: keeping people permanently out of the GGNRA. This
is really what the Big Year is all about -- nothing more; nothing less.
Certainly, it was the natural course of man’s evolution and migration that
brought him to this area of expansive natural resources and breathtaking beauty in the first place. This was, simply put,
a natural and unavoidable confluence. And certainly, there is no doubt that man’s presence is a contributory factor in the
displacement of some species from their homes. But the Big Year organizers have set forth an aggressive and strident agenda
to reverse the effects of man’s footprints on this transformed wilderness. Reverting huge areas of open recreational space
surrounding a bustling urban metropolis back to its original state, i.e.., desolate wilderness, is not an easy task. Recognizing this, the Big Year event organizers have embarked on a campaign of mass
media propaganda in their attempt at fete accompli.
To further expose the Big Year for the sham that it has proven to be, one need
look no further than the advertised prize for winning the contest. After all, every contest must have a winner. And the winner
must receive some sort of prize, mustn't they? Well, the Big Year event organizers have been extolling the existence of such
a prize since the event’s inception -- no doubt in a feeble attempt to somehow legitimize the contest. But as one unpeels
the onion of the Big Year, one quickly comes to the realization that the promoted prize really doesn't exist. Yes, it appears
as though the prize is as enigmatic as the 33 endangered species that supposedly inhabit the GGNRA. Perhaps we need a contest
to try and find the prize?
Yes, the Big Year appears to be nothing more than a “Big Lie”. But as long
as the public continues to buy anything sold under the label of political correctness, as long as the "Save the Environment"
mantra is prominently displayed, then anecdote will continue to trump science and more “Big Lies” will be told. Perhaps it’s
about time the public begins to ask, "Where's the prize?"
The following is a comment by environmentalist Bill M. on an article in SF Weekly published Feb. 4, 2008 titled "Watching Endangered Species for Fun and Profit". The comment calls into question the true motives behind Plater's "Big Year" contest:
I think Mr. Plater's comments hint at how he is a lawyer & wanna-be-leader, rather than an ecologist or biologist. Going in the parks & looking at nature does NOT need registration and a contest. I think the BIG YEAR is a big year for Mr. Plater, not for plants and animals.
A few things in the interview made me wonder about how honest Mr. Plater is.
He acts like HE made a BIG DISCOVERY about the # of endangered/threatened species in any of the national parks. That information is readily available from the national parks website. I'm surprised a smart lawyer like Mr. Plater had to do a formal request for info to discover this.
Or in "lawyer-speak" Mr. Plater cleverly uses the term "continental" when saying the GGNRA has MORE endangered species than other parks. Why? Because island national parks in the southern calif islands or hawaii have MORE species than the GGNRA. (Again, that information is available from the national parks website.) Our efforts to save species should be concentrated there. Hey, think priorities.
This whole promotion reminds me of the man who spent his time looking for keys under the lamppost, even though he lost his keys a block away. Why? Because that's there the light is. In the same vein, Mr. Plater is having a BIG YEAR in the GGNRA because the bay area is where he is, rather than concentrating on rainforest, coral reefs, world-wide deforestation, global warming, overpopulation, etc.
Last, I went to his website and it seems to me that the contest is largely a gimmick to get the public to go out to the parks and pick weeds for the GGNRA. So many of the animals are things you're never going to see (e.g. fish that swim underneath the golden gate, rare otters & sea lions, raven's manzanita, etc.). His action requirements lure you to the park the "see" (not!) a species, and once there, you're invited to do free labor. Action items that would really make a difference would be don't drive all over the bay area looking for plants and animals, don't make babies, don't buy stuff, etc.