Myakka River
State Park

Effects of Imported Fireants on Prairie Species

Breeding biology of the Crested Caracara in south Texas. (Wilson Bull. 1996, v. 108, p. 516-523) Dickinson, V. M.; ((Newly-hatched chicks were killed by S. invicta.)) http://webluis.fcla.edu

Survey of imported fire ant mound densities in Managed Native Prairies – The Attwater Prairie-Chicken National Wildlife Refuge: Final Report – Bastiaan M. Drees, Jennie Hoskins, and Rick Jahn. (1993). {addresses effect of fire on fire ant mounds} Download pdf at http://fireant.tamu.edu/research/arr/category/ecological/

Dry Prairie

• Dry Prairie Report

Dry Prairies are large native grass and shrublands occurring on very flat terrain interspersed with scattered cypress domes and strands, bayheads, isolated freshwater marshes, and hardwood hammocks. This community is characterized by many species of grasses, sedges, herbs, and shrubs, including saw palmetto, fetterbush, staggerbush, tar flower, gallberry, blueberry, wiregrass, carpet grasses, and various bluestems. The largest areas of these treeless plains historically occurred just north of Lake Okeechobee. In central and south Florida, palmetto prairies, which consist of former pine flatwoods where the overstory trees have been thinned or removed, are also included in this category. These sites contain highly scattered pines that cover less than 10 to 15 percent of an area.

Park Management Plan

• Management Report

This plan serves as the basic statement of policy and direction for the management of Myakka River State Park as a unit of Florida's state park system. It identifies the objectives, criteria and standards that guide each aspect of park administration, and sets forth the specific measures that will be implemented to meet management objectives.

Cogongrass Links

Invasive Species Management Plans of Florida

http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/node/199

National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/imcy1.htm

University of Florida, Cooperative Extension
Biology, Ecology & Management in Florida Grazing Lands
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wg202

Mappiing, Control & Revegtation of cogongrass Infestations
http://www.cogongrass.org/aldotreport.pdf

A  Cogongrass Management Guide
http://www.invasive.org/weedcd/pdfs/cogonmanagement.pdf

Invasive and Exotic Species of North America
http://www.invasive.org/browse/subject.cfm?sub=2433

Floridata Plant Profile
http://www.floridata.com/ref/I/impe_cyl.cfm

PestTracker Invasive Weed: Cogongrass, Imperata cylindrical
http://www.invasive.org/eastern/biocontrol/28CogonGrass.html

Cogongrass. congongrass plant with roots, seed head Congongrass: leaves, roots, seed
head Photo: University of Georgia. ... Weeds in the Sunshine: http://pest.ceris.purdue.edu/pest.php?code=PCABVBA

Cogongrass, Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States Identification, biology, control and management resources. (images for powerpoint presentation) www.invasive.org/eastern/species/2433.html

Cogongrass Rhizome. Cogongrass Rhizome (bai mao gen). ... Air ship 500 grams (about 1.1 pound) of Cogongrass Rhizome (bai mao gen) for your personnel use now for US$20.93. ... (Chinese medicine sholesale & retail company)
www.tcmtreatment.com/herbs/0-baimaogen.htm

Invasive Plant Report

Control of Invasive Grasses in the Myakka River Watershed Results Report: 9/30/04

Inventory: 45 of the original 46 cogongrass sites were checked and measured in September 2004. 128 of the 132 discovered after the grant proposal was submitted were also measured (see cogongrass spreadsheet).

The original goal was to eliminate 90% of the cogongrass sites. We have since learned that elimination of sites using current available treatment methods in native habitat may not be possible. This month we discovered sites cogongrass growth in sites that had been clear for up to three years. We must now reassess our definition of “eliminated.”

Invasive Plants

Control of Invasive Plants at Myakka River State Park

Park staff treat or remove plants designated as category 1 invasives by Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FlEPPC) upon discovery. West Indian Marshgrass (Hymenachne amplexicaulis), and paragrass (Brachiaria mutica) are not removed from the river marsh or isolated marshes west of All Weather Road or Cabin Lane. The use of herbicides in this area would be futile at this time, as seed source would continue to invade from upstream of the park. They are removed from other areas of the park. New infestations of Category 2 exotics are removed when practical. There are also a few plants not currently listed by EPPC that park staff have found to be invasive, and so are routinely removed when encountered.

Listed below are plants treated as invasive and the treatment currently used by park staff.

Friends of Myakka River

The Friends of Myakka River is a non-profit group established to protect, preserve and support Myakka River State Park and the "Wild and Scenic Myakka River."