Invasive Species Management Branch

Welcome to the Jacksonville District Invasive Species Management (ISM) Branch web site. The ISM Branch provides guidance, administration and technical support for the Removal of Aquatic Growth Project, the Aquatic Plant Control Program cost-share agreements with the State of Florida and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and invasive plant control programs within the Jacksonville District. The Branch also prepares and manages the annual budgets for these programs.

The ISM Branch serves as the Aquatic Plant Control Operations Support Center for the nation. In addition to controlling invasive aquatic plants, the Branch, through the Aquatic Plant Control Operations Support Center, is responsible for developing and implementing a monitoring plan for the Zebra Mussel (Dreissena polymorpha).

The Act of March 3 1899, CHAPTER 425 (An Act Making appropriations for the construction, repair, preservation of certain public works on rivers and harbors, and for other purposes) tasked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers with controlling water hyacinth in federal navigation waterways in the states of Florida and Louisiana. This act is also commonly known as the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899. The act was later ammended which allowed for the extermination and removal of waterhyacinths by mechanical, chemical, or other means.

Invasive aquatic plants are a serious threat to navigation, agriculture, public health, flood control, and native plant and animal communities. Navigating through our web site will provide a better understanding of why the control of invasive aquatic plant growth was, and continues to be, an important challenge to the nation.

Organization & Responsibilities

The ISM Branch consists of the Jacksonville District Office personnel, the North Florida Aquatic Plant Control Unit in Palatka and the Environmental Stewardship (ES) Section in the South Florida Operations Office at Clewiston.

The North Florida Aquatic Plant Control Unit is responsible for managing invasive plants on the St. Johns River from Jacksonville south to the Highway 520 Bridge, just south of Orlando, Florida. The Unit is also responsible for snagging and clearing operations in the St. Johns, Withlacoochee and Ocklawaha Rivers, subject to appropriate funding.

The ES Section at the South Florida Operations Office is responsible for managing aquatic invasive plants on Lake Okeechobee, the Okeechobee Waterway and associated tributaries. Other invasive species responsibilities include managing terrestrial plants for the Okeechobee Waterway and Central and Southern Flood Control Projects.

A USACE wide Aquatic Plant Control Operations Support Center was established to support the Removal of Aquatic Growth Project, among other responsibilities, and is based in the District’s Invasive Species Management Branch.