just b/c you don't care doesn't mean other people don't...
down is always a secondary harvest after the geese are havested for food. so please don't compare that. i'm not trying to just burn the OP. simply offering my opinion, which he asked for :D
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Cat tails will come back, even if you've plucked the heads to harvest the down. You really aren't destroying any eco system by collecting them. They'll be right back the next year. I know people that have collected stuff like that from the same area of the lake year after year after year, and guess what! They just keep coming back. Nothing has been destroyed, the areas of cat tail growth have gotten no smaller, nothing has changed! AMAZING HUH?
Some Eco Warriors are just a little too eager to point the finger at someone else. Cat tail down is one of the ultimate sustainable possibilities for an industry such as this one.
If we used cat tails to it's fullest possibility, we might avoid MANY marshes being drained in the name of progress and development, and create a new farming venture. Sustainable cat tail farming.
using hemp, cat tails, and bamboo to their fullest potential is more eco friendly than just about anything else we can do.
Here's the original thread on the subject. Lots of info.
RE: endangering wetlands by harvesting cat tails
Cattails are so invasive that it is apparently illegal in my state to harvest them for fear that the harvester will inadvertently spread the seeds faster. I kid you not. I know a guy who got busted by a game warden for exactly that.
On a different note, it should be mentioned that cattail down makes an excellent tinder once it is dry. You may want to think about that before laying down in a nest of it. Just sayin'.
I think the fibers would probably poke through sil nylon somewhat and be itchy. I would save it for a survival situation.
and this is why threads get closed.......
listen... this is easy ..think befor you type ;)
it's ok to state an opinion or to disagree with one... but do it with respect and in a manner fitting of the forums guys... :cool:
if i am not mistaken, (which I might be, not a biologist) cattails/reeds /rushes are perennial plants, they come back every year if they throw seeds or not...also spread through the rhizome/root system.