A.25. SUMMARY OF AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT IN MISSISSIPPI 
A.25.1. AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES MANAGEMENT PLAN 
Plan under development. 
A.25.2. AQUATIC INVASIVE SPECIES PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES 
• Control, Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Parks. The Department 
chemically treats water hyacinth and common salvinia in Mississippi state park waters 
and fishing lakes and stocks grass carp and salvinia beetles. 
• Monitoring and control, Mississippi Department of Agriculture and Commerce 
(MDAC), Bureau of Plant Industry, U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and 
Plant Health Inspection Service’s (APHIS) Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPQ). 
MDAC is assisting APHIS PPQ to monitor and control an infestation of giant salvinia in 
a private lake. Officials check the lake every 3 months and release salvinia weevils when 
necessary. 
• Coastal Preserve Program (giant salvinia), Mississippi Department of Marine 
Resources (MDMR). Department officials are assessing the possible use of the salvinia 
weevil to control giant salvinia, which has emerged as an aquatic invasive species (AIS) 
in the area. Officials are also addressing tallow tree and cogongrass through active 
surveys for the species and the use of herbicides and mechanical removal for control. 
• Alabama-Mississippi Rapid Assessment Team. State scientists conduct a 3-5 day 
survey of all AIS present in the coastal waters of Alabama and Mississippi to establish a 
baseline for further analysis. 
A.25.3. CLIMATE CHANGE CONCERNS 
• A recent document from MDMR (Dale A. Diaz and Jeff Clark, Mississippi Department 
Of Marine Resources Efforts Related To Aquatic Invasive Species, Proceedings of the 
14th Biennial Coastal Zone Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, July 2005), states that 
AIS “[are] a problem because there are many elements in place that make the state 
susceptible to aquatic invasions,” including the following: abundant pathways, such as 
commercial shipping, heavy recreational watercraft usage, aquaculture, and the 
ornamental plant trade industry; a subtropical climate with abundant aquatic habitat that 
is naturally hospitable to AIS; and increased coastal development, which can enhance the 
establishment of invasive species in areas where habitat has been altered. 
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