Environmental Steward Summer Job: Giant Salvinia Bio-control

The Summer 2012 Environmental Steward at Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve’s Barataria Preserve will engage an invasive species management project. The Steward’s comprehensive goal is to develop our Giant Salvinia bio-control effort into a vibrant integrative program addressing Park resource management and interpretive needs and involving Park volunteers. Giant Salvinia (Salvinia molesta), a floating aquatic fern native to the Amazon Basin, invaded the Preserve in 2006 and its populations now cover most Preserve waterways for much of the year. It exhibits classic invasive species attributes and its environmental impacts cascade from shifts in key abiotic conditions to community and ecosystem properties. It is a severe nuisance to boaters and fishers. Key elements of the Steward’s summer work include sustaining the introduction and distribution of the weevil bio-control agent in selected waterways, developing and implementing a monitoring protocol assessing Giant Salvinia coverage and weevil populations in these waterways, coordinating Park volunteer effort on this project, producing weekly reports on waterway accessibility for Park staff and the public, and developing interpretive guides and/or programs communicating the need for, aims of, and status of this Park project.