Free Guide To Identifying Southern Invasive Plants

The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station has created a free pdf download of invasive plant species, “A Field Guide for the Identification of Invasive Plants in Southern Forests.”

The book is a more comprehensive identification guide to nonnative trees, shrubs, vines, grasses, ferns and forbs invading the region’s forests and other natural areas. The revised guide includes 23 more plant species with updated information on the original 33 species; 241 new photos and images and a new “Resembles” section so users can identify plant “look-alikes.”

The book’s appendix contains the most complete list of nonnative invasive plants in the 13 Southern states, providing common and scientific names for 310 other invading species including, for the first time, aquatic plant invaders.

Complete with color high density photographs, it takes a few minutes to download or you can email:

To: pubrequest@fs.fed.us
Subject: Publication Request
In email, type: Please send me: A field guide for the identification of invasive plants in southern forests (GTR-SRS-119) by Miller, James H.; Chambliss, Erwin B.; Loewenstein, Nancy J.

This publication should be in every Master Gardener Clinic, County Extension office, Master Naturalist, eco-tourism guide, and environmentalist's library. The pdf is an updated version of their original publication from 2003.

Florida's Fishing And Beaches Still Not Affected By Oil Spill

UPDATE: Oil has reached Florida's beaches.

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Florida's fishing industry wants Floridians and tourists to know that the fishing in Florida is great! Despite all the MSM's devastating reports, rumors, and dire predictions about the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster, Florida's beaches and waters remain at this time normal.

Noting that misconceptions spawned of misinformation have already levied heavy tolls on Florida's recreational fishing industry, Florida Guides Association President Capt. Pat Kelly said it best:

"I think somebody cried Big Bad Wolf, but the Big Bad Wolf hasn't started biting on us yet," Kelly said. "When we have some of the best guides in the state losing trips, something is wrong."

Like most that make their living from Florida's natural resources, Kelly said he harbors deep concern for any potential harm to local ecosystems. Highlight "potential." The damage to Louisiana's coastal marshes is sadly inescapable. Harm to Florida is not a foregone conclusion. In fact, as of this writing, no documented reports of oil in or near Florida waters exist. Beaches remain clean, state waters remain open and anglers are having no trouble bending rods with trout, redfish, Spanish mackerel, cobia, tarpon, snapper, grouper and many others.

Read what is actually going on the men who are out there on the ocean.

Don't let your summer plans be ruined by assuming that you won't be able to fish or that the fish will be contaminated or killed by the oil.

This is the message of Florida's recreational fishing industry: Don't worry about something that has not happened, don't trust hype over facts and don't cancel plans to experience the nation's most diverse saltwater fishing.