Water district won’t keep refuge; it will use land to store runoff
The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) has begun efforts to usurp the guardianship of the final enduring remnant of the northern Everglades from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) after 65 years. The current dispute over Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge’s (LNWR) Lygodium infestation may result in the termination of a license agreement from 1951. This irreplaceable 144,000-acre stretch will not remain a wildlife refuge if under SFWMD control, despite claims to the contrary.
Whereas it’s the National Wildlife Refuge system’s mission to conserve and manage fish, wildlife and plant resources, the water management district’s mission is solely to manage water. Further, without the federal government managing the land as a refuge, the state no longer has to comply with meeting the 7 parts-per-billion target and there is no ability to enforce higher water-quality standards.
The district’s pretext to launch this contract dispute is FWS’ “intolerable” failure to control the spread of the invasive Lygodium, a flowerless climbing fern that is overpowering tree islands critical to the survival of the irreplaceable ridge and slough habitat. Lygodium coverage in South Florida exceeds the current coverage of the top five invasive species combined. There are no herbicides or insects that will control its spread. The Lygodium infestation is plaguing many of the properties that the district currently manages, as well.
The district estimates the cost to control LNWR’s Lygodium to be $5 million annually for the next five years. However, the entire invasive species management budget for all 565 national wildlife refuges is only $9.7 million, of which the LNWR receives 14 percent. Despite these limited finances, FWS and the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission together provided $5.45 million for LNWR in 2016.
Revoking the lease agreement between the district and federal government will not solve the problems facing the refuge. The solution to the extreme invasive species infestation is partnership and collaboration on a realistic plan with a realistic budget. The tree islands in the northern part of the Everglades are a distinctly unique part of the River of Grass and they should not be under control of the SFWMD, who will drown the islands and use this land to store polluted agricultural runoff.