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Winter 2003 - V.18 N.4 Table of Content	Invasive Cogon Grass May Surpass Kudzu as Southern Plant Scourge
News Around the Lagoon First Phase of Everglades Restoration Begins Trace Levels of Wood Presearvations Found in Florida Aquifer Nonnative Mussels Found in Tampa could Spread Wildly House Members Urge Bush to Retain Clean Water Act Protection Artificial Reefs Study and Regulation Plan Invasive Cogon Grass May Surpass Kudzu as Southern Plant Scourge Congress Oks $150 million for Everglades Central Florida Water Supply in Peril 5,000 New Fish Species in Census of Oceans EPA Reports 40 More Superfund Toxic Waste Site Cleanups Skin Lesions Affect Fishermen and Swimmers Mercury Decreases in Everglades Surfriders TRests Prompts Further StudyRunoff Cause Cattails Spread in Everglades Puffer-fish Band Stretches to One Year	Cogon, which grows up to four feet tall, arrived in 1911 from Asia. It later was cultivated in central Florida, Alabama and Mississippi for erosion control and forage. It kills pine seedlings, is a hot-burning fire hazard, squeezes out native plants and ruins habitats for threatened species such as the gopher tortoise and indigo snake. Cogon is even more aggressive and harder to get rid of than kudzu. It is considered one of the world's 10 worst weeds and has invaded every continent except Antarctica. In the United States it has spread as far south as the Everglades, up into South Carolina and west into Texas. It has infested between 500,000 and 1 million acres in Florida. Fire, natural or controlled, is vital for healthy longleaf ecosystems to get rid of undergrowth that competes with the pines, but cogon burns up to 20 degrees hotter than other plants. That will kill trees such as longleaf pines, which are tolerant of less intense fire. Next Article: Congress Oks $150 million for Everglades

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