FWC Pauses Aquatic Plant Herbicide Treatment During Public Comment Period

Beginning Jan. 28, 2019, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will temporarily pause its aquatic herbicide treatment program throughout the state. During this pause, staff will work to collect public comments regarding the FWC’s aquatic plant management program.

The FWC will hold several public meetings to gather community input about the program. Specific dates and locations of these meetings will be announced shortly. Comments can also be sent to Invasiveplants@MyFWC.com.

See the sample letter below:

Hello:

Thank you for collecting public comments on this important topic.

I am writing to encourage the FWC to pause aquatic plant herbicide treatment until a plan for moving toward more sustainable mechanical harvesting can occur. Treating aquatic plants and leaving them in the water column results in the release of nutrients and accelerates eutrophication. All of Florida's coastal estuaries are suffering from excessive nutrient contamination that is resulting in algal blooms, fish kills, and anoxic conditions. Fine-grained sediment and "muck" are choking our tributaries, smothering benthic organisms, and blocking light from sea grasses. Furthermore, herbicides like Glyphosate have been linked to cancer and sea grass loses.

We need to work together to bring Florida's waterways back to health. Mechanical harvesting would be a much better method for managing waterways than herbicide treatment. Thank you for moving in this direction!

Read the complete press release at myfwc.com.