Summer in Southwest Florida is often associated with family vacations, hurricane season and, increasingly, efforts to control the Burmese pythons.
This also has been the time of year when traditionally U.S. State Department employees often receive new domestic and international placements in “summer transfer season.”
With movement and going to unfamiliar locales, the agency provided staff guidance that ties to those very same Burmese pythons now so prevalent in Southwest Florida, according to documents in public records research by the Naples Daily News and the Fort Myers News-Press.
In addition to warnings related to the python, the advisory points out concerns connected to citrus canker that led to devastation of Lee and Collier county orange groves.
Here’s what to know.
‘Economic, environmental and public health risks involved’
The State Department first coordinated with the federal Plant Health Inspection Service and the National Invasive Species Council in 2012 to promote awareness of the economic, environmental and public health risks involved as their workers relocate.
“Employees packing out from their current posts should be aware that they can contribute to or prevent the spread of invasive species,” noted the government guidance. “The Burmese python, for instance, is changing the delicate ecosystem of the Florida Everglades. Sold as pets in the 1970s, the snakes grow to 18 feet and 200 pounds, so some owners released them into the wild. Today, there may be 180,000 of them in Florida alone. Their impact: A recent study said the population of midsized mammals may have decreased more than 90%.”
‘Suitcase Invaders’ report by U.S. State Department and other agencies
The “Suitcase Invaders” report also referenced bacterial disease and its impact on the region:
“The invasive citrus canker causes unsightly lesions on lemons, limes, oranges and grapefruits in Florida. (Entering) on seedlings imported from Japan in 1910, the disease has been declared ineradicable by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. (Invasive species can come) accidentally in packaging, wooden crates, food products, plants and animals. They hitch a ride in luggage, the soil on tent stakes, bicycle tires and even on wood carvings. Insects, slugs and snails can lodge themselves in containers, crates, pallets, packing material and even household effects.”
Raised in SWFL, In the Know Columnist Phil Fernandez (pfernandez@gannett.com) has led Pulitzer Prize-winning efforts.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: After Florida incursion, State Department warns of ‘Suitcase Invaders’
Reporting by Phil Fernandez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Phil Fernandez, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
