Rotarians hear ‘attack plan’ for eradication of rogue vegetation a t Felsenthal reservoir

News-Times/Larry Singer Check presentation...Scott Ellen, holding check, with members of the Ouachita River Commission, presents a $40,000 check for a research project to Ronnie Greer, second from right, with Friends of Felsenthal. Other people working on the project are, from left, Eric Brinkman, of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission; Bernie Peterson, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; Don Turman, with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and Kent Stegall of the Save the Ouachita organization. The check presentation was made on Monday.

Rogue vegetation like hydrilla moss and the American lotus lily have slowly taken over the 15,000-acre reservoir at the Felsenthal National Wildlife Refuge, annually covering an estimated 90 percent of the water and dampening economies from Felsenthal to Crossett.

These oxygen-stealing plants have also made fish kills an annual event, and they’ve created a navigational nightmare for fishermen trying to motor around. In many areas, navigation is impossible.

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have been...

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July, 2009