Agencies, volunteers partner to control Brazilian Peppertree

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Sandy Mickey, USFWS Mark Szydo of Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, cuts Brazilian peppertree along CR 92, near Goodland.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Sandy Mickey, USFWS Volunteer Robin Jones of J & D Grading, takes cut Brazilian peppertree to the chipping machine.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Sandy Mickey USFWS Volunteers after a busy and successful work day in cutting back invasive Brazilian Peppertree.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Conservation Collier A view before a crew of 30 people spent six hours cutting, spraying and chipping the exotic Brazilian Peppertree plant along a four-mile stretch of County Road 92, from the Goodland Bridge north toward US 41.

Photo by ROGER LALONDE

Conservation Collier A photo after a crew of 30 people spent six hours cutting, spraying and chipping the exotic Brazilian Peppertree plant along a four-mile stretch of County Road 92, from the Goodland Bridge north toward US 41.

Several local agencies and organizations partnered together to control the exotic invasive plant Brazilian peppertree along the boundaries of Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Collier-Seminole State Park and Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve on Tuesday.

The effort was organized as an exotic plant workday, sponsored by the Southwest Florida Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area (CISMA).

A crew of 30 people spent six hours cutting, spraying and chipping the exotic plant along a four-mile stretch of County Road 92, from the Goodland Bridge north toward US 41. This project started in 2004 with an original treatment of Brazilian peppertrees along CR 92 and US 41, when many sections were solid Brazilian peppertree. The areas have been retreated several times so that current and future efforts involve smaller trees that are easier and more effective to treat.

Now, the area is dominated by native plants, including red and white mangroves, wax myrtle, and grapevine. This project was part of the CISMA’s efforts to work across boundaries in order to protect our native ecosystem from invasion by non-native plants.

The Brazilian peppertree is an invasive exotic hardwood tree that invades natural areas in dense thickets that completely shade out and displace native vegetation, including several listed plant species. It also reduces habitat quality for animal species, including the Florida panther, and reduces biodiversity.

The Southwest Florida CISMA is a partnership of federal, state and local governments, private individuals and non-governmental organizations interested in reducing the impact of or eliminating invasive, non-native plants and animals by combining programs and resources on a landscape level to achieve common goals and objectives. Tuesday’s crew of 30 people came from across Southwest Florida, including Alva, Fort Myers, Sanibel, Naples and Goodland and represented multiple government agencies, private companies and volunteers, including local volunteers, Ten Thousand Islands National Wildlife Refuge, Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Partners Program, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ecological Services Program, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Collier-Seminole State Park, Conservation Collier, Collier County Government, South Florida Water Management District, Big Cypress National Preserve and J & D Grading, Inc.

More workdays are planned for 2011 at local conservation lands. For more information on the Southwest Florida CISMA, visit: http://www.floridainvasives.org/Southwest/.