We took a break from EAB surveys one day last week to take care of a few other things around the park.
The park has several small ponds around the property, which are lovely to sit by or some you can even fish in. However, several of the ponds have been overrun by an invasive aquatic plant called Water Primrose (Ludwigia hexapetala).
The primrose grows in dense mats across the water’s surface along the shoreline, blocking sunlight from reaching the bottom. This is a big problem for native aquatic species because they are not able to photosynthesize and continue growing, so they eventually die. A couple weeks ago another intern and Courtney tried ripping out the weed by hand but found that the roots were too firmly entrenched in the bottom pond sediment. So the next step was to spray herbicide. Before anyone freaks out over the H-word, it is important to know that not all herbicides and pesticides are as bad as the media makes them out to be. The National Park Service cherishes all of the natural resources they take care of and therefore only use the safest procedures and materials to tend to them.
We used is called Rodeo, which is a commonly used nonvolatile glyphosate herbicide. It bonds very quickly to surfactants and is therefore safe to use in aquatic applications. This cannot be said for all herbicides , so it is extremely important to read all chemical labels before application.
On Wednesday we sprayed the pond outside of the Park Headquarters, which is frequented by local recreational fishers.
We used is called Rodeo, which is a commonly used nonvolatile glyphosate herbicide. It bonds very quickly to surfactants and is therefore safe to use in aquatic applications. This cannot be said for all herbicides , so it is extremely important to read all chemical labels before application.
On Wednesday we sprayed the pond outside of the Park Headquarters, which is frequented by local recreational fishers.