Giant Salvinia Found in Lake Fork

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has confirmed the presence of giant salvinia in Chaney Branch on Lake Fork. The infestation appears to be confined to this branch and another small cove west of the dam and occupies an estimated 3.25 acres. Judging by the distribution and age of the plants, it is apparent it has been in place for several months. As is the case for other introductions in East Texas, the plants were most likely introduced to the lake by boat trailer.

Lake Fork’s controlling authority, the Sabine River Authority (SRA), immediately closed boat ramps at Chaney Point South and Secret Haven, which are located at the westernmost end of Chaney Branch, in order to eliminate any further risk of spreading this invasive plant. The SRA has also conducted reconnaissance at bridge crossings and conducted shoreline surveys by boat to look for additional infestations.

Crews from the SRA and TPWD have physically removed salvinia plants and placed them in garbage bags for disposal. Additionally, crews have placed approximately 1,100 feet of floating boom across the creek, containing the infestation within the 90-acre cove.

SRA staff has also installed a floating sign and lights to alert boaters to the presence of the floating boom.

TPWD staff will be conducting a chemical treatment using glyphosate. All efforts will be made to protect beneficial aquatic plants while focusing treatment on killing the invasive giant salvinia. TPWD will continue to conduct additional surveys to check for the spread of the plant to other areas of the lake, and additional physical removals will be done if necessary.

Efforts to increase public awareness will be increased by installing warning signs at major boat ramps. Boaters and property owners are urged to clean, drain, and dry their boats and trailers in between trips and to report additional infestations outside of the Chaney Branch area by calling (903) 593-5077, (903) 570-5745, or by emailing kevin.storey@tpwd.texas.gov.

Giant salvinia is a floating fern native to Brazil. It reproduces by budding and spreads easily by the movement of wind and water currents. Giant salvinia grows rapidly and can double in coverage in a week. Uncontrolled, giant salvinia can impede navigation, block sunlight from reaching the water and hamper fishing.

This incident is a painful reminder of the importance of cleaning all plant material from your boat, trailer, and towing vehicle and draining your boat before leaving a lake. Transportation of aquatic invasive species is illegal in Texas.

For more information on giant salvinia and other invasive species, visit http://www.texasinvasives.org/.

That is not something anyone needs right now. That stuff is bad news.

Another grass-less year at Fork (bye bye Hydrilla)

Well if it means that all the giant salvania is gone I could go without hydrilla. That stuff is bad news for sure. Fish can't even live in it. Takes all the oxygen and sunlight away from everything it covers. It can double in size in as little as 4 days. Look at what it's done to Caddo.

any updates on this?

Also found in Sandlin about 3 months ago.

Waiting for report on zebra mussels in Fork

As I understand it, there's not enough calcium in Fork for zebra mussels to gain a foothold. They need the calcium to build their shells.

People report Nessie being seen swimming near dam. Pets reported missing. Dallas offering to drain reservoir.

Any new news pertaining to Giant salvinia on Lake Fork? Is it under control or is it potentially spreading? Thanks in advance!

A few days ago, I talked to some residents of the RV park at the end of Chaney. They told me that spraying was done again last Tuesday and the results would be checked again 3 weeks hence. The hope is to control the spread.
I know that this info imparted to me is second hand, but I would regard it as reliable.
The barrier is still up at the end of the cove. No idea how long it will remain there.
Since the barrier is still up and the area was sprayed again, I assume that salvinia was found alive. I do not know the extent.

KILL IT... KILL IT ALL, no matter if it kills all the other plants in the cove. Sulvinia molesta took over our lake here in Hawaii and the lake was CLOSED for over a year while they had to physically remove all the plants and then spray the shoreline with roundup. Two boats pulling a 50 foot boom would drag it over to a boat ramp where a back hoe with a scoop could load it into a dump truck...

What made the state act so quickly was the fear that ALL the fish would be killed and create a major health problem with all the flys and rotting fish.

The lake looked like a golf course. The stuff is so thick you can't push through it with your bass boat. The long hairlike roots get sucked up into the motor and clogs the impeller. That is expensive to replace, let me tell you. Yes, NO FISHING for one year.. and cost the state over 1.2 Million Dollars to clean the Sulvinia Molesta out of a 400 acre lake. It multiplies... DOUBLES IN AREA... in 5 to 9 days. One day there is a patch the size of a tennis court, The next week it's the size of a basketball court, and the following week it covers an area the size of a football stadium. Can you imagine if Lake Fork was CLOSED because you couldn't get your boat in the water. The entire surface of the lake carpeted with a thick green mass? Kill it all as fast as you can.

This is a picture of two boats collection the sulvinia molest and dragging it over to the back hoe to be loaded into a dump truck.
See all the overhanging trees along the shoreline? They had to be cut and removed to get the sulvinia out from under them.
You do not want this nasty stuff in Lake Fork...

we saw some by rainswood. this stuff is bad. When we out in pontoon boat, we pick up and bring home and burn. and if any on our shoreline, we scoop it out too. everybody needs to pitch in to remove. Bad bad stuff.

Wow!!

Absolutely, we pulled a small patch out in penson yesterday.

where do they have the boom? is it way back in the cove where it forks (west and south), or is it out where the cove enters the main lake?

I swore I saw some in Rodgers last weekend during Champs. Wasn't sure if we were supposed to call someone about it or not.

Glyphosate is carcinogenic...
Not good all the way around.

That stuff must be bad news.

My trailer is in Chaney, it is still closed to trailer launching ( ramps closed) for several months now. didn't see any sign of it last weekend.It is imperative that you report any sightings to SRA so they can treat it. Don't listen to the bs going around how they're killing the fish; we've caught several over 8's already this year.
We watched the stuff completely choke off the back of the creek in just a few days.

yes call sra

SO, NOW we have a WEAKNESS of zebra mussels...need to figurei out how to make it work FOR minimization/elimination of the mussels...and then knock out all these useless zebra mussel regulations....

LOL any chemical that will kill this stuff is carcinogenic....that is why you MUST have a license to handle it!!!! I have such a license, ...my comment is...stand back folks, let the experts do what needs to be done...don't B!tch, don't whine, don't complain, let's just do what needs to be done to get rid of this stuff, and be glad it's gone...

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in Roundup, which anyone can buy at Home Depot or Lowe's. Not good for the people who use Fork as a source for their tap water.

Well, you are partially right. I laugh every time I pass the "concentrated" version of Glycophospate at HD or Lowes, because what they label as "concentrated" is the maximum concentration allowed without a license. ...Fortuantely, the general public(such as you) can ONLY buy the diluted version(regardless of how it is labeled)...by the way, simple skin absorption from the lowes/HD version is WAY more dangerous than drinking water(untreated) from fork after they spray...and seriously bladder cancer is the only real issue...hardly a killer...more folks have bladder cancers for a host of other issues(diet related) such as diet drinks, colas...just saying...

The TPW(whomever) will be using the concentrated version WHICH YOU CANNOT PURCHASE without a license....and yes, we call it (generic roundup)...once you dilute it with a lake full of water, then treat the water at a treatment plant, minimal risk to humans...I mean hey, they allow folks like you to purchase and use a much higher dosage without proper handling techniques training....so there is not much risk with it in a lake full of water.

T54....good job chasing up some relevant research, that is being conducted...to bad those weevils can't control it by themselves (that would be great), but at least the Glycophospate will not kill them...that is fantastic news...a double whammy, if you will...thanks again!

Too bad the bream and crawfish love the weevils! Least that's what I was told by folks researching it years ago. It's bad news for sure. Sad to see what it's done to Bistineau, Caddo, and Black Bayou in Hosston. I used to love that little lake. Haven't been to any of the above in years.

I wonder if the big flood at Caddo will clean up a lot of this [censored]??

One thing is for sure. These floods will spread it downriver. We all need to be wary of where this stuff goes and try to kill it as soon as its found. If its not stopped it will destroy our lakes and fishing will be a thing of the past.

Sounds like A Civilian Boat Trailer is the ONLY way to move this stuff from lake to lake!? Flooding won't do it, birds won't do it, GW Boat Trailers won't do it, Biologists Boat Trailers won't do it, Lake Cleanup crews (somebody looking for work) won't do it, COE Boat trailers won't do it...LOL

Sounds like we are DOOMED...I WONDER if the Zebra Mussels will Kill this stuff or vise versa?

Yes, I am making light of the situation...Yes, there are laws in place...No the laws do not stop the spread...Yes, man and his pleasure devices are ALWAYS the culprit...because the Govmint and or their devices are NEVER to BLAME...BS, I say..

Sounds like they are spending too much time on research and not enough to time on action, control measures...typical...Oh we have a new problem...we need the taxpayers to foot the bill for research, more biologists to define the problem, and outside cleanup contractors...while we drive by and watch...and blame.


BUT the biggest thing I HEARD...WE NEED MORE CONTROL!...Well, if this stuff doubles every five to seven days...time is a wasting...Get OFF YOUR BUTTEs and get to WORK...five years worth of research and watching the problem from the seat of your truck...won't cure the problem any better than More Control, but it WILL create a BIGGER PROBLEM...while you whine about lack of resources...Here is a GREAT IDEA...Divert the people and resources you have(yes even office types)...to deal with the problem ASAP or YOU are PART of the problem...In summary, the problem is not money or manpower...it is an unwillingness to do the job you get paid to do, while blaming others...Govmint Process!

And Yes, from what I can see, they are finally getting around to the...taking action part of my rant...here on lake Fork...but what about the test lake it came from (CADDO?!) the other lakes where it is a problem...How did it first get here...a Boat Trailer from Brazil?...how did it get in our only natural lake? Why was it allowed to be a problem in the first place?

The way most invasives get to the US is from the general public. Just like the boa constrictor problem in Florida where exotic owners turned their pet boa loose when it became to much trouble to take care of. large aquarium owners imported it into the US to put in their aquariums because it was something that they could show off or it was a plant that none of their buddies had and mishandling took it from there. We are our own worst enemies when it comes to things like this. I know that a lot of boat owners don't even look at the underside of their trailer when they pull it out of the water. And how many of the people that live in the Caddo area have come to Fork to fish for the "Fish of their Dreams" ? You have to realize that common sense is not so common any longer, if it ever was. When you import as much stuff into the country as we do there is bound to be things that enter that are not detected. Fire ants comes to mind. we have to do anything we can to help prevent the spread of invasives no matter how they got here or who was at fault and try to learn from our mistakes. I , for one, will gladly check my trailer to make sure nothing is hanging on it if it will possibly help in the fight to control this. I have seen firsthand what this stuff has done to Caddo and don't want to see it in any other lake in the US.

good info. headed there next week thx

Can anyone tell me what this stuff is? Is it good or bad? Spent the weekend on Fork and was alarmed at the amount of stuff growing on top of the water and getting pushed around by the winds.

Looks like Parrotfeather. http://aquaplant.tamu.edu/plant-identification/alphabetical-index/parrotfeather/

How does Fork get so much vegetation and not a single lake around San Antonio can even grow hydrilla?

Thanks DAN-O! I wonder if that stuff has been around for a long time on Fork or new this year. I don't remember seeing any of it last year.

do they still have the boom across the cove? anybody that lives down there see any of this stuff recently?

LOL, truth!

Braunig and Calaveras had tons of hydrilla in the 70's until TPWD introduced the [censored]/carp!

Bad stuff.