Invasive Plant Removal, Disposal and Maintenance Plan

If we determine during site review that invasive plants are present on the property, you will need to submit an invasive plant removal, disposal and maintenance plan. You must include the following elements in your plan:

Maintenance

• Identify who will maintain the land
  • When identifying this, include the land developer, successors and assigns
• Maintenance responsibility document
  • This defines the responsibility to ensure whomever you have named to maintain the land will remove and control all invasive plants from reinvasion for a five year period
  • You should create the document in the form of one of the following:
    • Declaration of protective covenants
    • Deed restriction
    • Declaration of condominium
    • Other maintenance obligation

Identify plants

• Identify the types of invasive plants existing on the property including:
  • Brazilian pepper
  • Australian pine
  • Melaleuca
• Give the general location of the invasive in relation to water, wetlands and listed animal and/or plant species
• Describe where you propose to remove the invasive plant to once you receive approval

Method

• Describe the method you will use to remove the plants
  • Chemical and/or mechanical
  • The following areas of concern must be adequately addressed:
    • Time of year the work will be performed
    • Assurance to comply with the chemical label if chemicals are utilized
    • Controlling disturbances to surrounding areas
    • Suitable stabilization of exposed soils to prevent the creation of water quality problems

Disposal

• Describe how you are going to dispose of the invasive plant material
  • If you proposed to take the material offsite will, you must describe where the material will be taken
  • You must comply with Rule 62C-20 of the Florida Administrative Code regarding Aquatic Plant Management permits

Prevent regrowth

• Describe the techniques you propose for controlling any reemergence of invasive plant resprouts or seedlings
  • This description must include:
    • How the maintenance activity will occur
    • The frequency of treatment throughout the five year period.
  • The description must strive to accomplish the following:
    • Total control of the nuisance species on a frequent basis so that self-propagation, whether sexual or asexual, does not occur during the monitoring period.
    • Assurance that nuisance species do not attain a size deterring the natural recruitment of desirable species through shade, allelopathy, water usage, nutrient assimilation, etc.

Report the results

• In the plan, you must state that you understand you must conform to a monitor reporting program
  • Reports will be required for submittal within 6 and 12 months of the first 2 years and every 12 month period for the third through fifth years
  • The following information must be contained within the report:
    • Areas of infestation with color photos displayed on a scaled site plan
    • Approximate aerial coverage or number of individuals removed
    • Species removed
    • Color photographs from fixed locations representing the maintained non-reemergence of invasive plant problems encountered and the corrective measures implemented

Resources

• Invasive plant list
• Identification and control of non-native invasive plants in the Tampa Bay Area

Contact

If you have Natural Resource questions that are not answered here, submit a Natural Resources Inquiry or call the Natural Resource Unit at (813) 272-5600.