Abstract
The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program has been implementing a comprehensive management strategy to reduce the population of Island Apple Snails in an urban watershed in Mobile, Alabama. Invasive species management was identified as a priority for habitat restoration in the Three Mile Creek Watershed Management Plan published in 2014. In 2019, RESTORE Act funds were secured by the MBNEP to develop an Invasive Species Control Plan for the Three Mile Creek Watershed, which outlined strategies to manage invasive plants and the iconic invader, the Island Apple Snail. In 2020, MBNEP began implementing the Plan to control these prolific breeders in Langan/Municipal Park lakes, considered to be the source of the snail population in the Watershed. MBNEP and partners are using a multi-pronged approach including biweekly mechanical egg mass removal and opportunistic adult collection, extensive habitat management through herbicide application to manage lake vegetation and reduce egg-laying opportunities, and chemical control with chelated copper to kill adults. In addition, trapping of Island Apple Snails is being conducted by the University of South Alabama to monitor and track population abundance throughout the lakes pre- and post- copper treatments. Results of management efforts to date will be presented coupled with preliminary Island Apple Snail monitoring trends. Community partnerships will also be highlighted to show the level of collaboration required to effectively control such an aggressive invasive species.
