WHAT IS BEING DONE ABOUT FLORIDAS AQUATIC WEED PROBLEMS?
Federal, state, and local agencies spend millions of dollars each year to control aquatic weeds in Florida. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has been designated by the Florida Legislature as the lead agency to control aquatic weed problems in public waters. The Invasive Plant Management section administers funding programs for this control and issues permits for private and commercial aquatic weed control. Also, there are laws restricting the importation and cultivation of foreign aquatic weed pests to prevent the establishment of new weeds. Research on the chemical, biological and mechanical control of aquatic weeds presently is conducted by scientists at Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, United States Department of Agriculture, United States Army Corps of Engineers and many of Florida’s major universities.
