A killer is lurking the banks of the Ichetucknee River and infiltrating its pristine waters. The perpetrator is light green with parallel veins and covered in short hairs. Water lettuce is threatening the crystalline Ichetucknee River, which offers 200,000 visitors a year recreational resources such as snorkeling, canoeing and tubing. The Ichetucknee River basin is also the source of drinking water for everyone in Lake City and Columbia County, according to the Save Our Suwannee Inc. Web site. Water lettuce is an invasive and exotic free-floating plant, said Sam Cole, Ichetucknee Springs State Park biologist. "When it reproduces it clones and it forms large rafts that can completely cover up a waterway causing problems for boat navigation and the ecosystem," Cole said. The canopy formed by the water lettuce prevents sunlight from entering the water, substantially reducing oxygen levels and killing fish and native plants. "We don't know when water lettuce was introduced, but the problem has exacerbated," said Jim Stevenson, coordinator for the Ichetucknee Springs Basin Working Group. Water lettuce reproduces rapidly and creates dense canopies in response to nutrients, primarily nitrate, Stevenson said. Nitrate comes from septic tanks, livestock waste and fertilizer. Nitrate from these sources enters the groundwater and flows underwater to the springs. Because of the rapid reproduction of water lettuce, the Water Lettuce Removal Program was established in 2000 to begin physically removing the plants. Herbicides would take care of the problem, but would also destroy native plants. "We decided to take care of it manually," Cole said. "It was a general call to the public for help."
Cole and others contacted several organizations including several service fraternities to perform the cleanups every month on a Saturday. Ricardo Cortez, a brother of Sigma Lambda Beta International Fraternity Inc., has been doing the cleanups for the past year. Cortez believes this is an important service to the community because it prevents contamination and preserves this precious natural resource.
"It's a very fun experience and not a difficult task," Cortez said. "We can go in the morning and after five hours we have picked between one-half to a full ton of water lettuce." Volunteers take canoes to areas of the Ichetucknee River to pick the water lettuce manually and place them in bins. The water lettuce is then taken to higher ground away from the river current and it rapidly decomposes. "Over the last three years, its become such a popular activity, especially with university groups, that we get volunteers almost every weekend," Cole said. Water lettuce will never be completely removed. The river will require constant maintenance, much like mowing the lawn. "None of the river has been lost to water lettuce because of these volunteer removal projects," Stevenson said. With the community and students working together, this killer plant doesn't stand a chance. | 
