Fern Frenzy

The Honolulu Advertiser is reporting that efforts to clear the invasive aquatic fern Salvinia molesta from Lake Wilson, Oahu may be failing. The salvinia, a South American native, is on the federal noxious weed list. State and local officials have been working to remove the plants by mechanical means, with the hope that they can avoid treating the lake with chemicals that would harm other flora and fauna. The success of the salvinia has been tied to high levels of nutrients in this manmade lake, which regularly receives effluent from a wastewater treatment plant on a nearby river.