Training complete, residents look to tackle Giant Salvinia
by Daniel Jones, News Editor
The first training session to teach local residents how to combat the invasive plant Giant Salvinia has been completed with much success. The Toledo Bend session is the first of its kind in Louisiana, perhaps in the entire country, with it being expected that this citizen-based approach will become a model for the rest of Louisiana to use on their salvinia problems.
With 76 registered for the first session, an astounding 84 people crowded into the DAV building on Hwy. 191 in Toledo Town, pushing the building to capacity. An additional 74 have already registered for an upcoming second session, and names are already being placed on a wait list for a third session.
A number of organizations, governmental agencies and legislators came together to make the training possible, including the Toledo Bend Lake Association, Sabine River Authority of Louisiana, Toledo Bend Citizens Advisory Committee, LSU AgCenter, Dept. of Wildlife and Fisheries, Dept. of Agriculture and Forestry, Rep. Frankie Howard, and Sen. Gerald Long.
“This is the first time anyone is trying this community based approach to such a vicious biological problem,” said Mona Davis, who worked diligently with her husband, Frank, to get the program rolling. “We’re not looking for any money, we just want involvement of people who live on the lake.”
Davis continued by saying what a pleasure it was to work with the various organizations, calling by name Jim Pratt and Mike Carr of the SRA and legislators Howard and Long, who were able to get the attention of the participating state departments. She complimented Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Secretary Robert Barham saying, “He believed we could do this and this meeting today is proof of what the citizens of Toledo Bend can accomplish.”
In Fall 2009, more than 3,500 acres of Toledo Bend, the largest man-made lake in the south, was infested with Giant Salvinia (salvinia molesta), an aquatic fern native to southeastern Brazil.
The plant does not attach to soil, but remains buoyant on the surface of a body of water, doubling in dry weight every two days from fragments that have broken away from dormant buds detached from the main plant.
The rapid rate of growth can envelop entire bodies of water, creating a dense carpet of vegetation capable of sustaining a significant weight and choking valuable oxygen from the water that animal life needs to survive.
Despite the large amounts of the plant in the lake in 2009, a much colder winter than usual destroyed vast amounts of it, reducing levels to a point not seen since the late 1990s, when the problem was still minor.
“If we don’t control it this year, it will be back much worse next year at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Dr. Dearl Sanders of LSU Agricultural Center told those in attendance.
Authorization to spray for the noxious plant can only be obtained through the training, according to Sean Kinney, Toledo Bend biologist and chairperson of the team which developed the training. Residents must attend training to learn what to use, when to use it, and how to apply the pesticide. Then, they must submit an application to the SRA with a map of the intended spray area. Those permitted must then submit log sheets to the SRA following each treatment. Log sheets must also be kept on file by the permit holder for three years, as well.
It was also heavily stressed at the meeting that absolutely no herbicides or pesticides may be used within a half mile of any water intakes on Toledo Bend. Maps were provided to all in the class to ensure Sabine’s drinking water is kept safe.
Each step was undertaken in meticulous detail by the respective speaker. The types of sprayers were discussed, proper storage was addressed, and warnings were given. Other speakers were Alex Perrett from Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries and Marty Pousson of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry.
Dr. Dearl Sanders of the LSU AgCenter wrapped up the program, and stressed the need to document all spraying done, since this is the first time in Louisiana history the public sector is taking the fight to salvinia. Sanders is the nationally-recognized expert on chemicals to control Salvinia.
“People are going to find fault with what you’re doing,” Sanders said. “As long as you’re under the guidelines you are OK; it’s good to be squeaky clean.”
Planning is currently underway for additional training sessions, with no firm dates announced as of press time. However, one can be put on the waiting list or have questions answered by contacting the SRA at 318-256-4112.
