ANDERSON COUNTY, Texas (KLTV) – We\u2019ve seen it happen on East Texas lakes before…the appearance of Giant Salvinia!<\/p>\n
Game wardens are warning boaters and recreationers to be careful what they bring to the lake on their boats in an effort to curb the spread of this invasive plant.<\/p>\n
Alarm bells are going off for game wardens after Giant Salvinia showed up on Lake Palestine.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple of weeks ago, we saw it on the north end of the lake. It\u2019s usually contained up there. Now, it\u2019s blown into the main part of the lake as far as the bridge and villages, so we\u2019ve got land owners and concerned citizens calling us,\u201d said Smith County Game Warden Chris Swift.<\/p>\n
The invasive species can take over an entire body of water and spread rapidly. When it invades, it kills any other source of marine plant life.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt can be catastrophic. Giant Salvinia is an aquatic plant, and it floats,\u201d Swift said.<\/p>\n
It also grows at an astonishing rate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe stuff that we observed a couple of weeks ago was small, juvenile,\u201d the game warden said, and now there are floating mats of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can drown in it, swimming,\u201d said Swift.<\/p>\n
Not just an inconvenience, once it gets started, it can choke the life out of a body of water.<\/p>\n
So, how did it get here? It\u2019s transported.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt certainly can get in somebody\u2019s trailer and somebody\u2019s boat. We have to spray for this, and spraying costs money. We can\u2019t 100 percent say that all we\u2019re spraying is the hyacinth and Giant Salvinia,\u201d Swift said.<\/p>\n
He says to stop the spread, boaters need to be vigilant.<\/p>\n
\u201cTake a little extra time to clean your trailer, clean the bunks on your trailer, and if you can, dry your boat off, wipe your boat off. You don\u2019t want to be that one guy that brings it from one lake to another lake,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Swift said if game wardens spot a boat that has not been cleaned, they are authorized to make a traffic stop to ensure the craft is addressed.<\/p>\n
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