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Health & Fitness

New Illinois regulation helps protect regional waters from aquatic superweed Hydrilla

Chicago Region, IL The Illinois Department of Natural Resources recently banned the sale of 27 new aquatic plants.  The plants were added to its Injurious Species List (Administrative Rule 805) http://www.dnr.illinois.gov/adrules/documents/17-805.pdf, which also made it illegal to gift, barter, exchange, loan, or transport the plants without a permit.  Plants on this list include flowering rush (Butomus umbellatus), Brazilian elodea (Egeria densa), yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus), and Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum).

Plant species were chosen based on the results of a risk assessment tool developed in Indiana by the Aquatic Plant Working Group. The tool evaluates species based on factors like ability to thrive in the Great Lakes and difficulty to control. At the request of Indiana Department of Natural Resources, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG:  www.iisg.org) organized and facilitated the group, which included representatives from the aquatic plant industry, aquarium and water garden hobbyists, state agencies, academia, and non-governmental organizations. Their efforts led to a rule approved last year that bans the sale of 28 invasive aquatic plants in Indiana.

“It is important to have consistent regulations across the Great Lakes Basin. We want our policies to be consistent with our neighbors since invasive species don’t respect political boundaries,” said Kevin Irons, aquaculture and aquatic nuisance species program manager for Illinois DNR.  “Prevention is the first and cheapest way to protect Illinois from aquatic invasive plants, and risk assessment tools like the one built in Indiana allow us to identify and control high risk species without unduly regulating the industry.”

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One of the most high risk species on both lists is the aquatic superweed Hydrilla verticillata.  Hydrilla has not yet arrived in Illinois, but has already been found in Indiana, Wisconsin, Kentucky, and Tennessee (http://www.eddmaps.org/distribution/usstate.cfm?sub=3028) Once this plant becomes established it is very difficult and expensive to eradicate because it produces tubers that can remain in lake bottoms and riverbeds for up to ten years and still be able to grow into plants.  In addition, the plant itself fragments easily and these pieces are easily transported on recreational water vehicles and can grow into new plants.

Early detection/rapid response is the second most effective method for dealing with invasive species.  When an invader is reported before it has a chance to spread it can be easily and cheaply controlled and both the economic and ecological impacts are considerably reduced.  To this end, Illinois DNR has worked with the Northeast Illinois Invasive Plant Partnership (www.niipp.net), Chicago Botanic Garden (www.chicagobotanic.org), and the Lake County Health Department (http://health.lakecountyil.gov/Population/LMU/Pages/default.aspx) to create an Illinois Hydrilla Task Force which has a website (www.niipp.net/hydrilla) that provides information about how to identify this plant and where to report a potential sighting (HydrillaHunt@niipp.net).

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The Injurious Species List and the Illinois Hydrilla Task Force are just two components of Illinois DNR’s efforts to control the spread of invasive species. Earlier this year, Illinois DNR and Illinois Indiana Sea Grant launched “Be a Hero—Transport Zero,” a state-wide program that gives boaters, anglers, and beach goers the information they need to help stop aquatic invaders (http://iiseagrant.org/ais/transportzero.html). The state also spearheads efforts to detect new infestations and manage established species.

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