Herbicides: What’s the Plan?
Since the inception of Mighty River Recovery, our followers and fans have expressed great concern over the use of herbicides on Florida’s freshwater systems. This subject has been the most discussed on our social media pages by an overwhelming margin.
We understand your frustration. For years - decades, even - Floridians have watched their resources decline with an apparent lack of concern from the management community. Like you, we question a direction that seems bound for failure.
But before we simply blame herbicide use for all of our problems, we need to discuss the big picture. What it is we hope to achieve, and the most practical way to get there.
Herbicides being applied by the US Army Corps of Engineers on the St. Johns River
Mighty River Recovery was formed to stop the documented, long-term decline of the St. Johns River, restore valuable fish and wildlife habitat, and increase interest and use of this magnificent waterway.
Make no mistake, we call into question the reliance on herbicides for management of this system, and insist on impartial, scientific review of its long-term affects.
Here is where things get tedious. Changing the status-quo of freshwater management in Florida is a major undertaking.
Again, let’s key on “impartial, scientific.” At this time, there’s no conclusive evidence that herbicide use is negatively affecting our resources. How is that possible, you ask? Because we’ve never truly looked for it.
This is the major failing of our resource managers, including the Florida FWC. Nowhere do we have long-term, organized data to gauge the effects of our management. Even more shocking, there is no current published management plan for the St. Johns River, Florida’s largest freshwater resource. There’s no way to track historical changes in plant communities, little or no creel data on fishing success, no long-term electrofishing numbers, few resources to track tourism and certainly no impartial studies tracking the effects of herbicides.
“Even more shocking, there is no current published management plan for the St. Johns River, Florida’s largest freshwater resource. ”
What we do have, provided by the management community, are narratives and data supporting herbicide use that cites the evils of invasive plants. Data that was derived primarily from studies done in controlled environments, not on our public waterways.
We see this as flawed. We also view this lack of real-world data as a gigantic void in conservation and practical resource management.
However, because we don’t have data, we can’t just assume we know what’s best for the St. Johns River.
Currently, we’re investigating a number of factors that are suspected for this decline. Nutrient levels in the St. Johns River are steadily rising, causing algae blooms and impacting other plants. Exotic fish numbers have exploded and are suspected of reducing vegetation. Manatee populations are higher than ever, yet the overall impact is unknown. Massive dredging projects are suspected for increased water levels and salinity. And let’s not forget herbicides…
A common belief among the scientific community is that more than one - possibly all - of these factors are contributing to declines in the system. But each factor must be researched impartially, including herbicide use, to come up with answers. We continue to move in that direction.
A few more key points must be addressed:
First, you’ll hear managers talk of how safe herbicides are, and how they don’t impact the environment long-term. True, data has been obtained to suggest that herbicides do not stay in the water column for extended lengths of time. Build-up in sediment is debatable, and we’re in talks to begin a project to test for both. In addition, the dangers of many of these chemicals like glyphosate are just beginning to be understood.
Regardless, what’s not being addressed is the effect of these compounds across the environment.
Herbicide use leads to massive nutrient release (proven), and has been shown to significantly increase algae blooms and degrade water quality. Muck build-up is suspected from prolonged herbicide use. Yet this and turbidity are not being addressed by managers and (surprise!) real-world data doesn’t exist.
In many sections of the St. Johns River, muck levels are alarming
Also, we must consider all sides of alternatives to herbicides. It’s important to point out: invasive plants like water hyacinth and Cuban bulrush must be managed, or they will overtake the ecosystem. Managing without primarily relying on herbicides will be a major undertaking, requiring extensive infrastructure and funding.
Finally, consider that herbicides are big business in Florida, and the State’s management system has been built around chemical use. In fact, the scientific body used by our resource managers (UF, IFAS) directly advocates for the use of herbicides and widely supports that industry.
Their underlying premise for insistence on chemicals? Rules and laws that call for complete eradication of invasive plants at all costs. These archaic principles (one Act dates to 1899) fail to take into account that Florida’s ecosystem has completely changed over time, yet management remains the same. The Florida of today will never be that of the 1950’s, no matter how many invasive plants we kill. In the meantime, we’re continuing to destroy fish and wildlife habitat at alarming rates.
In fact, studies are showing that wide-spread use of herbicides significantly reduces the chance for beneficial plant growth, and actually increases the likelihood of invasive plants expanding!
Such sums up what we see: declines in plants, declines in fish and wildlife, declines in tourism and interest, and unchanged management practices. But, in order for things to change, we must conclusively prove that a change is necessary, and insist it happens. This takes time.
Rest assured, we hear you and we’re working as hard as possible on this subject. Mighty River Recovery takes on the tough issues, and herbicide use is one of the toughest.
You won’t find any organization in Florida as dedicated to this concern as us.
We’re the first non-profit specifically put in place to stop freshwater fish and wildlife habitat loss. But we need your help.
The ONLY way we’ll move the needle is through massive public outcry. To get there, we need YOU to be a number on our side. That number can come through a Facebook follow, a membership or even a donation. Every single person counts, whether you recreate on the St. Johns River or somewhere hundreds of miles away.
It’s our belief that, if we look objectively at freshwater management in Florida, the need for a new direction is obvious. Unfortunately, many Floridians have simply accepted our resource decline as status-quo.
