Hi Dave,
Thank you very much for your valuable and optimistic views on this species and my ruthveni program.
I am very excited about working with ruthveni, and very much look forward to applying what I have learned while working with northern pines, what I read in popular and scientific literature, and what others tell me from their experiences with this species. Experience is perhaps the most valuable tool, and I hold those with it in very high regard.
Currently my program involves 10 animals, three of which are males and seven females. Of these, only 1.2 will be ready to safely reproduce in the 2010 season. I, like you, believe that an extra male or two is always a good thing in case the unmentionable happens.
Furthermore I am looking forward to producing animals that have a diverse genetic background, as that is the mission of my program in general. While I do not have any wild-collected specimens of ruthveni that I hand collected myself there are a few people here who can vouch for the amount of time, energy, and money that I have invested in order to obtain stock that is pure and untainted. Undeniably there will always be those forever skeptical of this species and those of us who choose to work with ruthveni...to those skeptics all I can do is apologize for their misery. It must be tough for them to have no faith or at the least little trust and confidence. That's alright though, the "uglier" and/or more "unremarkable" the animal is the more I will want to reproduce it.
Thanks again for taking the time to share your experience with me.
Cheers,
--Brian
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--Brian Scott

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