FWC Commissioners direct staff to move forward with improvements to Aquatic Plant Management Program

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) today heard a staff update regarding the agency’s longstanding Aquatic Plant Management Program.

Commissioners directed staff to move forward with significant changes informed by stakeholder input. These enhancements include:

• Expanding the creation of habitat management plans for individual lakes.
• Forming a Technical Assistance Group consisting of staff, partners and stakeholders.
• Improving timing of herbicide-based invasive aquatic plant removal treatments.
• Increasing coordination with manual invasive aquatic plant harvesting companies.
• Exploring new methods and technologies to oversee invasive plant herbicide application contractors.
• Developing pilot projects to explore better integrated plant management tools.

“Invasive plants are a serious threat to Florida’s waterbodies, and we know from history that they can cause considerable harm in a short amount of time. We are resuming our management program with a commitment to these enhancements,” said FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton, “and will solicit alternative methods, working with research partners and others - especially in south and south central Florida.”