Help is on the way for area lakes

Help is on the way for Texas’ aquatic vegetation infestations on lakes Conroe, Caddo, Toledo Bend and others.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department this week announced it has received grants totaling more than $425,000 to help control the spread of nuisance aquatic vegetation in public lakes.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has agreed to provide $150,000 to help improve boating access on Conroe, $100,000 on Caddo and $75,000 on Toledo Bend as well as more than $50,000 for other reservoirs.

Also, the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership will provide another $40,000 for Caddo Lake. SARP is a partnership of state fish and wildlife agencies in the Southeast and several other governmental and environmental organizations.

TPWD will provide additional funding, as well as staff and equipment, for the program that has an overall estimated cost of around $1 million.

The targeted aquatic vegetation species are water hyacinths, giant salvinia and hydrilla.

Among the agencies and associations that are cooperating with TPWD in various aquatic vegetation projects are the San Jacinto River Authority, Lake Conroe Association, Cypress Valley Navigation District, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, North Texas Water Management District, City of Jacksonville, Sabine River Authority, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.