Florida’s Ongoing Struggle with Non-Native Water Hyacinth

Article Reference: Florida’s Ongoing Struggle with Non-Native Water Hyacinth

The Sunshine State continues controversial spraying of herbicides like glyphosate to combat the aquatic weed.

By Robert Beringer

“We definitely have concerns about the spraying and management of these [hyacinth] plants, because one of our top issues that we’ve been trying to tackle for two decades now is the growing threat of toxic green algae in the river,” says Lisa Rinamen, director of St. Johns Riverkeeper, which advocates for protection and restoration of the St. Johns river. “When you spray the hyacinth they die, they drop down, and they add more nutrient pollution to a river that already has too much nutrient pollution.”

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