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Helicopter crews are scheduled to begin herbicide treatment of the floating mats of giant salvinia and water hyacinth on Toledo Bend Reservoir at 7:00 a.m. on November 7, 2009.

Friday morning Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) aquatic vegetation biologist Howard Elder surveyed the situation from the air and reported the following:

• 2,000 total acres are affected;
• southerly winds have broken apart the main concentration, resulting in a few large mats and many smaller ones intermixed with scattered plants;
• the worst infestations are on the Texas portion of the reservoir;
• many plants are now being pushed against the shore and into small south-facing coves, some of which are now 100 percent covered;
• plants are now spread over 16 miles, from Patroon Bayou above Pendleton Bridge to the southern point of Housen Bayou.

Herbicide application will be carried out by crews from North Star Helicopter, Inc., of Jasper under contract with TPWD. Depending on weather conditions, spraying is estimated to take approximately five to seven days and should be completed by November 13, 2009.

Larger concentrations of vegetation will be targeted first while smaller mats and scattered plants will be treated as conditions allow. Results from the treatments may take up to four weeks to be fully visible due to cooler water temperatures. Additional treatments will be necessary to reduce concentrations in areas inaccessible to aerial treatment.

For more information contact Howard Elder at (409) 384-9965, howard.elder@tpwd.state.tx.us.

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