[ RadSafe ] Chernobyl ecosystems

[John Ahlquist]

I'm not surprised that the Chernobyl ecosystems have come back so well. 
  You find a similar pattern at Rocky Flats and Hanford in their buffer 
zones.  Where humans do not intrude for a period of years, the natural 
ecosystems thrive.  The Rocky Flats buffer zone has become a special 
ecosystem of what the area was like before human interference and is 
now  being preserved as such.  As I recall, an endangered species, the 
Preeble jumping mouse, which was thought to be extinct or nearly so, 
was found there and doing well. In some of the grasslands in Montana 
that were set aside in a conservation move, it was found that limited 
grazing [like the buffalo used to provide] is needed to ensure the 
health of the system.  We have found out the same with fire and 
forests.  Basically if you remove human tinkering [even if well 
intentioned]  or misuse, the ecosystems will likely do well.

John Ahlquist