South American weed choking out Lake Caddo
Posted By Erin Rice in Square Pegs on July 30, 2007
This one may be a little out of left field, but when the New York Times (.com) thinks it's important enough to feature a Texas phenomenon as its lead story, goshdarnit, I do too.
Apparently there is a mossy weed from South America that is now threatening to engulf the only natural lake in Texas. The monster that is taking over the lake is called Salvinia Molesta, and is more accurately described as a "fast-spreading, Velcro-like aquatic fern." Reportedly the velcro-fern completely shuts out light from reaching into lake, killing all water life underneath it.
Here's the link to the original story in the NYT. And below is a video that talks more about the threat.
John Meyer, says:
Having spent quality time with an old fishing buddy on the shores of Caddo Lake at both Curly's Cove and Crip's Camp (where the fried catfish dinner is so dang good, it's almost worth driving out there from Dallas), this troubles me.
Caddo is/was truly a spooky place (which to me has always been a good thing), where you could rent a jon boat with a wheezing Evinrude and dang near get yourself lost back among the miles of cypress-lined peat-stained waters, occasionally casting a plastic worm against a partially-submerged tree and letting it sink (a tried-and-true bass-fishing technique known to locals as "stump-thumping").
Sure hope they come up with a solution.
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