IFAS TV News Script: VICIOUS VINE - PKG.

LEAD:       FLORIDA IS WAGING WAR AGAINST BIOLOGICAL POLLUTANTS.... FROM SOUTH AMERICAN FIRE ANTS TO AUSTRAILIAN MELALEUCA. NOW, SOUTH FLORIDA MAY BE FACING ITS GREATEST BATTLE YET. ERIN EASTERLING REPORTS

SUPERS:

:02-:06       Near West Palm Beach, FL
:14-:19       Mark Musaus - Loxahatchee Wildlife Refuge Manager
:39-:43       Randall Stocker - UF Invasive Plant Management
1:06-1:11   Dan Thayer - South Florida Water Management District

TRT:       1:28

TAG:       OLD WORLD CLIMBING FERN IS NATIVE TO THE TROPICS OF ASIA AND AFRICA AND ITS CLOSE RELATIVE, JAPANESE CLIMBING FERN IS A PROBLEM WEED THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES.

AT FIRST GLANCE, OLD WORLD CLIMBING FERN SEEMS TO BE A DAINTY, HARMLESS PLANT. BUT AFTER IT STARTED CREEPING ITS WAY INTO FLORIDA'S PROTECTED HABITATS, THIS FERN-LIKE VINE IS NOW FAR FROM INNOCENT.

Musaus: "Even thought it's a very pretty plant, it's literally killing the rest of our native vegetation, and that's the base from which all of our other species use that, and so we have serious concerns. " (:12)

THIS FERN IS ALREADY SMOTHERING MORE THAN 40 -THOUSAND ACRES IN SOUTH FLORIDAÕS WILDLIFE REFUGE AREAS INCLUDING THE EVERGLADES. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA RESEARCHERS ARE STUDYING THE FERN TO FIND THE BEST MEANS OF CONTROLLING ITS INVASION.

Stocker: "One of the big unknowns with this plant is exactly how it spreads. It's a fern. It releases spores. Spores are tiny they're carried by wind currents. How far and how long they live we just do not know. " (:12)

SO FAR, THE ONLY CONTROL FOR THE FERN IS TO MANUALLYAPPLY HERBICIDES , WHICH IS TIME CONSUMING AND VERY EXPENSIVE. ANOTHER CHALLENGE IS GETTING THE PUBLIC TO UNDERSTAND WHY EXOTIC SPECIES ARE

Thayer: "It's hard to convince people that something green is bad, and it's really one of the worst forms of pollution in that it continues to spread on its own. instead of, you can stop a smoke stack from spewing smoke, but you can't stop an exotic plant from growing." (:14)

PRIVATE LAND OWNERS ARE ALSO BEING ENCOURAGED TO REMOVE OLD WORLD CLIMBING FERN FROM THEIR PROPERTY, TO HELP SLOW DOWN THE SPREAD OF THIS VICIOUS VINE.

IN WEST PALM BEACH, I'M ERIN EASTERLING REPORTING.

IFAS TV News - 1999