Fast growing and breeding escaped plant and animal species are a plague in South Florida, and if we don’t control them now, we will pay big bucks to remove them later.
The python is getting a lot of press, but it’s time to ask what grass this snake is in. A new aggressive aquatic grass species, Luziola subintegra, originating in Mexico, Central and South America and the Caribbean, has been found in our waterways, and if unchecked, can quickly cover them. Rivers choked by this invader will not only be unnavigable, but will lose the health and diversity of their ecosystems. Encourage the Florida policymakers to take a stand against introduction of invasive plants from outside our borders.
According to Gene Kelly, President of the Florida Native Plant Society, “The Florida Department of Environmental Protection has estimated that state, federal and local agencies in Florida have spent at least $250 million since 1980 to control invasive nonnative plants, and that is for our public waterways and on our protected conservation lands alone. Invasive species rank second only to development in causing habitat destruction.”
Over the next few years, the US Congress will be considering The Nonnative Wildlife Invasion Prevention Act (NWIPA), which will regulate introduction of exotic animals to the US landscape. Advocates are pressing for criteria for exclusion of plants as well. Tools now exist to predict whether a plant is likely to become a pest plant based on characteristics and global history. This is a clear case of pay now, or pay lots more later.
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