Early Detection and Rapid Response

Shawnee National Forest early response at work.

By: Susan Corey

A kayaking trip on Dutchman Lake turned into an adventure in early detection and rapid response for Melissa Mead, Student Career Employment Program ecologist for the Shawnee National Forest, when she collected water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), an invasive aquatic plant species, for the first time on the Forest. Melissa collected the unknown plant for her Wetland Ecology Course at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (SIU-C). She pressed the plant specimen with the intention of identifying it later, and continued with her studies at SIU-C and her work on the Forest.

Later, she again spotted the plant while on an excursion to Louisiana with her class. She was able to identify the species and make the connection to the plant she had collected from Dutchman Lake. Melissa reported the site to Susan Corey, Botanist/Ecologist on the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District and, together, on a cold November day, they removed all of the visible plants from the lake. A total of 14 large trash bags and an estimated 700 pounds of soggy plants were removed.

While removing the water hyacinth, the two discovered the presence of another invasive aquatic plant species, parrot-feather watermilfoil (Myriophyllum aquaticum), and also removed it. This was the first documentation of the parrot-feather watermilfoil on the Shawnee National Forest.

A collaborative effort between the Shawnee National Forest and the River-to-River Cooperative Weed Management Area (CWMA) has developed over the past couple of years and coordination between the CWMA and the Forest has been beneficial. During the summer of 2008, Chris Evans, Coordinator for the CWMA, organized aquatic invasive plant surveys at all boat ramps on impoundments in southern Illinois. Melissa and two seasonal Student Temporary Employment Program employees on the Mississippi Bluffs Ranger District were involved in conducting these surveys on national forest lands.

When Chris received the report of the water hyacinth and parrot-feather watermilfoil populations, their removal and plans for monitoring the populations in the coming years, he responded, "This is a great example of effective early detection and rapid response within an agency: find a new plant, identify it as a problem, contact the appropriate persons within the agency, rapidly respond to neutralize the threat, and develop a plan to continue monitoring the site to ensure the population remains controlled." This cooperative effort is a perfect example of protecting ecosystems across boundaries.