Giant Salvinia Resources

Giant Salvinia in Caddo Lake

(Note: This page is intended to be a tool of useful resources for Lake Athens property owners. As such, it will be updated with new links as they become available.)

Now that we have our second infestation of Giant Salvinia in Lake Athens, it is vitally important for each and every Lake Athens property owner to be able to identify it! If you see it, or think you see it, take a picture of it and immediately contact one of the following:

Here’s a close up image of the non-native, highly invasive, Giant Salvinia vs. the native, common salvinia for comparison. Notice that the upper surface of the green leaves of both plants is covered with rows of white, coarse hairs, acting as a water repellent. The hairs of giant salvinia are joined at the tips in an egg beater shape while the ones of common salvinia are straight. Click on the picture to see it in full screen mode.

Click on the TexasInvasives.org logo to visit the Giant Salvinia page of a website dedicated to all invasive species in Texas:

Here is a short, very informative video from the folks at Stephen F. Austin State University titled “The origins of giant salvinia in North America”.

Here is the slide show that the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department contact personnel listed above showed at the March 28th, 2018 meeting regarding the status of Giant Salvinia in Lake Athens.

Here is a video from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department titled “Giant salvinia survey Caddo Lake (Texas) September 2017”. Notice the great amount of effort that is required just to keep boat lanes open.

Here is an educational video from Texas Parks & Wildlife Department titled “Anglers: How to Clean, Drain and Dry Your Boat”.  Please, help protect Lake Athens and other lakes you visit by Cleaning, Draining and Drying your boat!