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Hydrilla, the world’s worst aquatic weed, found in Idaho 9/8/2008 View article on original page (PDF format) In December, 2007 Tom Woolf, Aquatic Plants Program Manager at the Idaho State Department of Agriculture (ISDA) identified hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) in the Bruneau River system in Southwest Idaho. Hydrilla is a well-established weed in the southern United States where control and management costs millions of dollars each year. In the West, hydrilla has been introduced into California and Washington, and now Idaho. California has an eradication policy for hydrilla because the plant’s ability to severely impact water delivery systems. The Washington hydrilla infestation was discovered in 1995 and until the Idaho discovery, it was considered the only known occurrence of the plant in the Pacific Northwest. Washington’s population appears to be on the verge of eradication following years of aggressive treatment. Following extensive interagency and landowner planning, on Feb. 25 the river was treated with a diquat injection. Post-treatment hydrilla surveys indicated that the herbicide treatment reduced the living biomass by approximately 50% in the first two miles of river below the injection site. The treatment effectively killed the upper portion of the plants, removing the portion of the plant that presents the highest risk for fragmentation and re-infestation. In many cases the lower portion of the hydrilla plants still remain and will require treatment following spring runoff. Overall the treatment was a success and the threat of plant fragments moving downstream has been significantly reduced. An even greater achievement is the level of cooperation and collaboration that has come from all of the parties involved in this project. Additional identified infestations will be controlled in the summer with volunteer hand pulling, diver assisted suction dredging, and spot herbicide treatment if possible. Following the irrigation season, another river diquat injection may be conducted to control any remaining hydrilla plants. It will take years of treatment of achieve eradication of this population. Idaho recognizes the potential threat that this plant poses to the waterbodies of the region and will continue to pursue aggressive treatment until hydrilla is eradicated from the state. For more information, Contact Tom Woolf, ISDA Aquatic Plants Program Manager, twoolf@agri.idaho.gov. |
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