Invasive Exotic Program

CBA’s Invasive Exotic Project on the coastal dune lakes of Walton County began in 2005. Its objective is to identify and control invasive exotic and plant species on the lakes and replant with native species. This program has proven to be a successful area for collaboration with local schools. First, in the classroom, students learned how to identify exotic and invasive plants and how to use handheld GPS units. Then they brought those skills to the field, canoeing the lakes and simultaneously recording the locations of invasive exotic plants they found using the GPS units. Once the data collection was completed, students learned to use GIS technology in the computer lab to map their data. This process has been refined and repeated on several lakes. The data collected by students was subsequently used in CBA’s permit applications for Aquatic Plant Management permits from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). These permits allow for herbicidal and manual treatment of invasive exotic plants.

Participating Schools/Groups:

• Collegiate High School at Northwest Florida State College
• South Walton High School
• 4H
   

• Fuller
• Stallworth
• Allen
• Oyster
• Draper
• Big Redfish
• Little Redfish
• Alligator
• Grayton/Western
• Eastern
• Camp Creek