National Invasive Species Awareness Week to kick off
The community is invited to learn more about invasion exotic vegetation from members of the Sanibel Vegetation Committee at the Sanibel Island Farmers Market on Feb. 25 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at City Hall, at 800 Dunlop Road, Sanibel.
The city of Sanibel reported that initiated in 2010, National Invasive Species Awareness Week is a weeklong series of activities, briefings and events to highlight efforts around the nation and the world to slow the spread of invasive species. In the United States alone, invasive species cost over $137 billion annually in damage and control, and the cost they inflict on natural heritage is immeasurable.
An invasive exotic plant is an exotic, or non-native, plant that not only has naturalized but is aggressively expanding on its own, displacing native plants and wildlife, and disrupting natural ecological processes.
The city has been waging war against invasive exotic plants — and some animals, too — that threaten Sanibel’s natural areas since the early 1980s. In 1996, it enacted legislation regulating eight invasive exotic plant species — Brazilian pepper, air potato, earleaf acacia, exotic inkberry, java plum, lead tree, mother-in-law’s tongue and Melaleuca — that were determined to be the “worst of the worst” invaders. The eight species cannot be intentionally planted, transplanted or otherwise introduced in any way on Sanibel and are required to be permanently removed as a condition of all city development permits.
Although the war is far from over, the city and its conservation partners — the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service at the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge — have won several battles. Introduced as an ornamental and for its ability to dry up swampy environments, the last known Melaleuca tree was cut down in 1989. The city also continues to make progress with the Brazilian Pepper Eradication Program. As a result of the program, Brazilian pepper has been removed from all of Sanibel’s conservation areas and from most of the islands residential and commercial properties. Additionally, residents collected more than 1,000 pounds of air potato bulbils as part of the city’s Air Potato Exchange Day programs in 2012 and 2013.
GIVE A PEST AN INCH, THELL WILL TAKE AN ACRE
The impact of Hurricane Ian has changed the commercial and residential landscapes on Sanibel. Disturbance events such as hurricanes make landscaped and natural areas more susceptible to invasion by pest plants, and they are often some of first plants to begin regrowing or sprouting. Storm surge revealed the vulnerability of plants with low to no salt tolerance, extreme winds damaged or destroyed vegetation, and the storm may have potentially introduced invasive exotic plant species into new areas.
The city reported that now is the time to check your property for invasive exotic plants to remove. Whether you are acting as a steward for your own property, a local park or a far away natural area, invasive plants are likely to be a problem. In the face of global threats to biodiversity such as habitat destruction and climate change, we can each make a difference by preventing and controlling the spread of invasive species.
To view pictures of the “worst of the worst” or the city’s “The Alien Invasion” brochure, visit https://www.mysanibel.com/content/download/10568/file/The%20Alien%20Invas ion%202011.pdf.
For more information, contact the Natural Resources Department at 239-472-3700.