|
FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Wednesday,
October 14, 200
Contact: Rick
Johnson, Weed Coordinator- 360-786-5576
Decade of
Effort Frees Chehalis from Invasive Aquarium Plant
Grand Mound,
Washington
- A large and damaging infestation
of Brazilian Elodea, an aquatic plant native to South America previously sold
for use in aquariums, has finally been controlled in the
Chehalis
River
after ten years of sustained effort. A
large area of infestation has been reduced by 77%.
Although continued monitoring and control will be necessary, the
removal of the bulk of the infestation has substantially improved water
quality and eliminated Brazilian elodea’s impacts on water temperature,
water flow, and dissolved oxygen available to salmon.
The likely source of the Brazilian elodea infestation was
Plummer
Lake
in
Centralia
. It is suspected that someone
dumped an aquarium into the lake.
Brazilian elodea is a robust, fast-growing plant that
began to choke the river, raising the water temperature, holding back
sediment, reducing dissolved oxygen levels, and creating shallower water.
In
Thurston
County
, the Noxious Weed Control Board began removing individual Brazilian elodea
plants from the
Chehalis
River
in 1999. By 2003, the infestation
was so large that individual hand removal was no longer practical.
Since then, a growing network of County Weed Boards,
state and federal agencies and Tribal Government have collaborated to remove
Brazilian elodea from the river. Funders
and collaborators included the state Department of Natural Resources, the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Chehalis Tribe, the state Department of
Ecology, the state Salmon Recovery Funding Board, and the Nature Conservancy.
Over time, repeated annual surveying and removal of
Brazilian elodea have reduced its prevalence.
At its height, the scale of the infestation required sending divers
into the lake to vacuum it up and dislodge its roots.
In 2007, More than 106,000 pounds of Brazilian elodea was removed from
the river; in 2009, the amount had been reduced to 25,693 pounds.
“This is a saga that teaches several lessons,” says
Thurston County Noxious Weed Board chair Gene Little.
“It’s a lesson about how just one thoughtless action, like dumping
an aquarium in a lake, can harm an entire river system.
We need to educate citizens to avoid spreading invasive species like
this. But there’s also a very
positive lesson about how, when government agencies, tribes, and non-profit
citizens organizations collaborate, we can make things right in our rivers and
our environment.”
For a brochure, video, and statistics about the Brazilian
elodea removal project, go to http://www.co.thurston.wa.us/tcweeds/special-projects.htm
|
