While the precautionary principle advocates a proactive posture towards the eradication of invasive species, there is little empirical evidence to support this effort. By examining fennel management on Santa Cruz Island, California, from three perspectives, I advocate an ecological framework for weed management. First, a critical discourse analysis revealed that underlying scientific assumptions and personal bias failed to provide hypothesized results. Next, two long-term field studies, The Nature Conservancys Central Valley Fennel Removal Experiment and the University of California at Santa...