The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is designated by the Florida Legislature to be the state's lead agency for controlling invasive aquatic plants (as well as invasive terrestrial plants). This authority is carried out by the FWC's Invasive Plant Management Section (IPMS).

FWC's authority for managing aquatic plants is delineated in Chapters 369.20 and 369.22, Florida Statutes. While the framework is addressed in the statutes, policies, rules and funding are addressed in Chapter 68F-54, Florida Administrative Code.

The IPMS contracts with other public agencies and with private companies to manage plants in public waters. Public waters are sovereignty lands with access via a public boat ramp. Funding is not sufficient for plant management in all waters, therefore IPMS funds control only in public waters. Other government authorities or property owners are responsible for plant management in canals, private waters, and sovereignty waters that do not have public access.

THE PROCESS
There are approximately 450 eligible water bodies in Florida covering more than 1.26 million acres of fresh water.

IPMS's regional biologists ("RBs") inspect each of the eligible water bodies at least once each year. Waters with extensive problems and management programs are inspected several times. Additionally, biologists from other programs within the FWC, US Army Corps of Engineers, water management districts, and local governments periodically inspect public waters and convey observations to the IPMS.

Inspections by RBs result in early detection and rapid deployment of management crews. Inspections also provide an assessment of invasive plant and management impacts on waters, and provide information essential in establishing management priorities. Invasive plant levels are recorded once per year at approximately the same time each year to provide a record through time of the effects of these plants and management programs. Plant levels are discussed among reviewing agency staff and are used to measure the percent of waters that are under "maintenance control" as well as to estimate the following year's budget necessary to achieve or sustain maintenance control.

The Timeline
Each February 1, the IPMS's Aquatic Plant Management Subsection in Tallahassee mails applications to government agencies with aquatic plant management programs, and to the IPMS' regional biologists, to develop management plans for all eligible waters on which state funds will be allocated to manage aquatic plants (list of government contractors). A workplan request is submitted for each water body, comprised of a list of plants that need to be controlled, control methods, and an estimated budget.

The Workplans
The Aquatic Plant Management Subsection receives workplan requests by early April.

Here is a workplan for Lake Rousseau (PDF, 116k), and here is a workplan for Lake Istokpoga (PDF, 111k).

Section staff reviews the workplan requests for completeness and forwards them to appropriate reviewing agencies. Reviewers include the IPMS's regional biologists, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as well as other groups or individuals that have expressed interest in the workplans. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service becomes involved when management operations may impact endangered species, including their habitat and forage.

After requests are received, data is compiled and team members have a number of meetings in strategic locations around the state during the 4th week of April to discuss proposed plans for each water body.

These workplan review meetings have two primary purposes:

First, all affected stakeholders have another opportunity to comment on, and help develop, management programs well in advance of actual operations. There is often only a narrow window of opportunity to control aquatic plants; delays caused by stakeholder concerns during optimum control periods can be costly and environmentally damaging. The meetings help obviate concerns and delays.

Second, since funding is not sufficient to control all nuisance and invasive plants in all public waters, the meetings allow managers to establish statewide control priorities and contingency plans if priority projects are not conducted.

Most of the IPMS' "Legislative Spending Authority" is allocated into contracts by July 1, which is the beginning of the state's fiscal year, so that local governments can establish their spending plans and workforce requirements for the year. Executed contracts substitute for aquatic plant control permits to avoid duplication of efforts. About $1,000,000 of the annual aquatic plant management budget is held in reserve to cover unforeseen contingencies between July 1 and mid-February.

Hydrilla control usually makes up about 3/4 of the state's aquatic plant control budget. Under optimum conditions, most large-scale hydrilla control operations are conducted between December and April. Just prior to this control period, waters in which major hydrilla operations are scheduled are re-examined and management plans are amended as necessary. Fiscal amendments may include assigning contingency funds or modifying contracts, and may even require recalling funds from one contractor to redistribute to another with greater need.

Workplan modifications are made as necessary throughout the year following the same review process described earlier. Program-wide funding reallocations are usually made in December and again in early May. The May reallocation is the last opportunity to shift funds among contractors prior to the end of the state fiscal year on June 30.

Although general workplans are approved each May, the exact treatment dates are not established. Contractors therefore notify the IPMS and other appropriate stakeholders by email 1-2 weeks in advance of actual operations. This allows time to ensure that operations can proceed as originally planned, or can be modified to adapt to current conditions.

Contractors keep weekly logs of plants controlled, methods used, and expenses incurred for each water body in which control was conducted. These forms are compiled and submitted to the IPMS with an invoice by the 20th of the month following the month in which operations were conducted. Regional biologists conduct random inspections of each contractor's work along with routine inspections of general plant levels to evaluate contractor effectiveness and adherence to workplan specifications.

ANNUAL REPORT
Plant level and control records are compiled into an annual report which is posted on the FWC. This report allows policy makers to better evaluate the status of the aquatic plant management program and to determine the level of funding for the ensuing fiscal year.

In this way, the IPMS has operated under performance-based and needs-based budgeting since the program was organized in 1981.