Pasco County leaders sound alarm on spread of invasive plant

PASCO COUNTY, Fla. - Pasco County leaders are growing concerned about an invasive plant spreading across the county. 

Cogon grass is one of the top ten most invasive plants in the world that poses a threat to native plants, grass, and even some wildlife. It's also extremely flammable.  

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"Cogon grass has natural chemicals in its leaves that make fire really hot," Tom Ries, the president of the Ecosphere Restoration Institute, said. "So, if there's an area that used to have native grasses, and now it's covered with Coogon grass and there's pine trees, and we have a lightning strike or prescribed burn, it'll kill all the pine trees."

The partially white wispy plant that can grow up to six feet tall originates from Asia. 

"Cogon grass is a nonnative grass that was brought here into Florida in the early 1900s," he said. "They didn't know the problems by bringing nonnative species in." Now you can find it along State Road 52, the Ridge Road extension, and many agricultural properties."

"I see it being spread across the county, especially as roads are widening and as developers bring in new fill for projects, they're bringing in contaminated soil," District 3 Commissioner Kathryn Starkey said. 

In a commission meeting Tuesday, Commissioner Starkey sounded the alarm on the issue proposing an ordinance that would require landowners to notify the county of the presence of Cogon grass and the strategy to offset it. 

"And also talk to our friends at the Department of Agriculture and Department of Environmental Protection and see if the state has a plan, and if it doesn't, does it need to have one?" she asked. 

Commissioner Starkey said she hopes to stop the spread of the invasive plant before it becomes a major problem. 

"We need to have a comprehensive plan of attack before the problem gets so big that we won't be able to treat it."

Ries said treating Cogon grass is a strenuous task. 

"There's no one treatment that addresses Cogon grass," he said. "You have to either burn it first or cut it all down and then herbicide it every year for multiple years."