Environmentalists tackle invasive plants at Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge
By Gabriel Margasak (Contact)
Monday, February 25, 2008 

HOBE SOUND — All might appear picturesque and perfect along the miles of remote sandy shore that frames the Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge.

But there’s something insidious hiding here with the potential to destroy the dunes that keep the Atlantic Ocean from spilling into the Intracoastal Waterway and threaten the lives of baby sea turtles.

A crew of Treasure Coast biologists and land managers set out Monday — with chainsaws, machetes and herbicide — to fight the invasive foreigners known as Australian Pine, Brazilian Pepper and scaevola, better recognized as the Hawaiian half-flower.

“This part of Martin County is one of the most remote beaches here, really pretty,” said Mike Renda, a restoration biologist with The Nature Conservancy, “and to have them damaged by this stuff, we can’t let that happen.”

So the sound of chainsaws drowned out the crashing waves for a few hours as Renda and his partners with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Martin County and the Florida Park Service, felled the dangerous foliage.

The agencies meet once a month to do such projects at various environmentally sensitive locations throughout the Treasure Coast.

“It helps us understand what each other’s problems are and helps us start talking about the big picture,” Renda said.

Monday’s picture was filled with young Australian pines and Hawaiian half-flowers that had to be removed before they became too dense.

“When the sea turtles try and nest they’ll get caught in the roots of the Australian pine. The sand will erode away underneath the Australian pine and little sea turtles will get caught up in them when they try to go back out to sea,” said Jackie Isaacs, a wildlife biologist with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the federally protected refuge. “It’s not very good for our native populations of animals we’re trying to protect. Because these come from an area not native to Florida, they’re damaging to our environment and tend to take over from our native species.”

Isaacs, clad in a hard hat and special pants to prevent chain saw injuries, felled one pine after another before spraying the stumps with herbicide to prevent them from re-growing.

“I’ve got the machete right now. I’ve got the scaevola, knocking it back pretty good,” said Michael Yustin, an environmental lands coordinator with the Martin County Parks and Recreation Environmentally Sensitive Lands Division. “It’s pretty hard to control. It’s all up and down the beach here.”

He paused to marvel at some dolphins swimming by the beach, north of the Hobe Sound public beach on Jupiter Island, and went back to the hard labor.

Although it was a small crew Monday, officials said they encourage the public to volunteer to help with such cleanups and residents can contact each agency to find out when the next work day will be held.

“It’s great once you get the public involved. That person will tell 10 people and they’ll really understand,” Isaacs said. “It’s a hard thing for the public to understand that taking down these trees is a good thing but it really is the best thing for the environment.”

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