Water: an important natural resource.

Invasive aquatic plants affect water adversely in the following ways:

• Block navigation
• Impede flood control
• Hinder fishing and other recreational activities
• Provide mosquito breeding sites
• Stunt fish populations
• Accelerate sedimentation and lake aging
• Degrade native plant habitat
• Impede potable water, irrigation and hydropower supplies

The MidSouth Aquatic Plant Management Society (MSAPMS) is a non-profit organization of scientists, educators, students, resource managers, administrators, and concerned individuals interested in the management and study of aquatic plants in the MidSouth region. Membership reflects a diversity of federal, state, and local agencies; universities and colleges; corporations; and small businesses. MSAPMS is a chapter of the national Aquatic Plant Management Society.

The MidSouth Aquatic Plant Management Society had its beginnings in May 1979, when a group of representatives from various federal, state, and private organizations within Alabama met at Auburn University, Auburn, AL to discuss common weed problems and potential solutions. The Aquatic Plant Management Society, Inc. agreed to sponsor the formation of a chapter named The MidSouth Aquatic Plant Management Society and an organizational meeting was held at Auburn University, Montgomery, AL in February 1982. David Bayne was elected the Society's first President. The first annual meeting of The MidSouth Aquatic Plant Management Society was held in October 1982, at Lake Guntersville State Park, AL.


From the President