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Stop Exotic Invaders Threatening Texas Waters
They blanket waterways and block boating, fishing and swimming, crowd out native species, spoil rivers and lakes, and clog power plant and municipal water pipes. They don’t belong here, yet more are coming all the time, spreading like a plague across the state. The good news: record funding approved by the Texas Legislature is launching new fronts in the war on aquatic invasive species.
Annual economic impacts of aquatic invasive species are estimated at more than $140 billion nationally, and globally the impacts are believed to be more than $4 trillion. In Texas, the impacts are far-reaching, costing the state billions of dollars annually, including threatening to undermine a recreational freshwater fishing industry worth more than $4 billion.
The most troublesome aquatic invasive species include giant salvinia, water hyacinth, saltcedar, giant reed, and zebra mussels. Water hyacinth has been documented to consume as much as 13 times more water than native aquatic plants, contributing to water supply losses in a chronically drought-stricken state. Also, dense mats of floating aquatic invasive plants have blocked waterways, impeding boating access and water conveyance for agricultural irrigation and municipal drinking water.
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