Reps. Fleming and Gohmert Tour Giant Salvinia Infestation on Caddo Lake
WASHINGTON, D.C.,
June 29, 2011
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Crystal Feldman
![]() Following the field hearing, Subcommittee Chairman John Fleming (LA-01), Administration, state and local experts traveled over the border to Caddo Lake in Uncertain, Texas to for a boat tour of areas on the Lake plagued with the aquatic pest. Caddo lake is 26,000 acres, the oldest public lake in Texas and the state’s only natural public lake. Giant salvinia was first discovered in the Lake in 2006 and has since grown from 2 acres to over 1,000 acres. There is a coordinated effort by the Administration, state and local experts to eradicate giant salvinia on the lake by employing chemical and biological control methods. One of the most successful methods thus far has been the disbursement of the salvinia weevil, a natural predator to giant salvinia. The Caddo Lake Giant Salvinia Eradication project recently established a salvinia weevil rearing facility near the lake to serve as a ready source of weevils for release on the Caddo Lake. The facility breeds weevils in large vats filled with giant salvinia to be released in infected areas on Caddo Lake and surrounding water bodies. |
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