Northern Remnant of the. Everglades Ecosystem. Sylvia R. Pelizza

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1 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee Nation nal Wildlife Refuge Northern Remnant of the Everglades Ecosystem Sylvia R. Pelizza Project tleader

2 National Wildli fe Refuge System Administered i d by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) under the Department of the Interior World s premier system of public lands and waters set aside to conservee America s fish, wildlife, and plants Began with 3-acre island in 1903, now expands over 150 million acres within 550 National Wildlife Refuges and 37 Wetland Management Districts across the Nation

3 National Wildlif fe Refuge System Larry Richardson Dean Biggens USFWS

4 National Wildlife Refuges in Florida St. Marks St. Vincent Lower Suwannee Cd Cedar Keys Crystal River Chassahowitzka Egmont Key Lake Woodruff St. Johns Lake Wales Ridge Pinellas Merritt Island Archie Carr Pelican Island Hobe Sound Passage Key Pine Island ARM Loxahatchee Island Bay Caloosahatchee J.N. "Ding" Darling Matlacha Pass Florida Panther Ten Thousand Islands Key West Great White Heron National Key Deer Crocodile Lake

5 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Established in 1951 by the Migratory Bird Conservation Act of 1929 for use as an inviolate sanctuary, or for any other management purpose, for migratory birds A 50-year license agreement between the USFWS and the South Florida Water Management District allows the USFWS to manage Water Conservation Area 1 as a national wildlife refuge Purpose within license agreement to to promote the conservation of wildlife, fish and game, and for other purposes embodying the principles and objective of planned multiple land use

6 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Renamed in 1986 after a former USFWS employee and avid conservationist Consists of 143,874 acres represented by five habitat types: - Tree Islands - Wet Prairies - Open Sloughs - Sawgrass Communities - Cypress Swamp

7 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Refuge designated critical habitat for the endangered Everglade snail kite Over 257 bird species; 23 species of mammals; 11 species of frogs and toads; several amphibians; alligators; 10 species of turtles; tl 8 species of lizards; 24 species of snakes; 40 species of butterflies; 23 species of dragonflies; and 7 species of damselflies

8 Ath Arthur R. Marshall hll Loxahatchee h NWR Variety of recreational opportunities: wildlife observation, interpretation, photography, p environmental education, fishing, waterfowl hunting, hiking, biking, and canoeing Over 300,000 visits annually New visitor center and exhibits

9 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Habitat management activities include: - invasive, i exotic plant control - prescribed burning - water level manipulation - ensuring gproper p water quality & quantity Other action activities include: - biological monitoring - monitoring external threats - monitoring exotic animals - overseeing research studies - cooperating with Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment (LILA) Project

10 Ath Arthur R. Marshall hll Loxahatchee h NWR License Agreement renewed in for additional 50 years New agreement tincluded dperforman nce measures and a goal specifically for the control and maintenance of four invasive exotic plants: Old World Climbing Fern, Melaleuca, Brazilian Pepper, and Australian Pine By 2017, all four species are require ed dto be in 100% maintenance control

11 Ath Arthur R. Marshall hll Loxahatchee h NWR The Service has been working towards sthis goal for the past seven years Since 2002, over $21.5 million has been obligated to initially iti treat t and retreat t the infestation from all four species Old World Climbing Fern and Melaleu uca alone infested over 70% of the Refuge in 2005 To date over 220,000 acres of all species have been initially treated and retreated

12 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Treatment consists of a combination i n of: - aerial and/or ground chemical treatment - mechanical/heavy equipment - physical/manual treatment - biological control - prescribed burning Acreage remaining to be treated includes: 63,000 acres of Old World Climbin ng Fern; 30,000 acres of Melaleuca; 6,000 acres of Brazilian Pepper; 0 acres of Australian Pine

13 Treatment Cells 1 sq km/247 ac

14 Aerial Chemical Appl lication of Old World Climbing Fern on Tree Islands

15 Dead Melaleu uca Stand with Old World Climbing Fern Taking Over

16 Ground dtreatme ent of Invasives

17 Ath Arthur R. Marshall hll Loxahatchee h NWR It is estimated that an additional $4 million dollars is required above the $1 million annual budget allocation for exotic removal to meet the performanc e measure Funding will also be required to keep th he species in maintenance control after the goal has been met estimated $1-2 million annually

18 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Prescribed burning is used as a management tool for invasive species control Biological control releases for Melaleuca: Bud Gall Midge and Melaleuca Psyllid Biological control releases for Old World Climbing Fern: Brown and White Lygodium Moths

19 Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee NWR Why Control Invasive Plants? Out compete native vegetation Exotic plants are the 2 nd greatest threatt to biodiversity next to habitat development How Do They Out Compete Native Vegetation? Rapid growth rate and production of tremendous quantities ii of seeds Ability to invade natural and disturbedd areas with equal success No natural enemies or insect predators ; therefore, no means to control or contain spread Ability to survive stressful events through massive seed falls and regeneration

20 Thank You