Document the giant salvinia mat extent at Caddo Lake State Park, site 1, Caddo Lake State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, public state park), 245 Park Rd 2, Karnack, TX 75661, Harrison County (2026-08-04)

Caddo Lake carries a well documented, severe giant salvinia infestation that has covered thousands of acres at its worst, and this stretch of shoreline at Caddo Lake State Park has no recent photo record of the mat's extent to prioritize it for the next TPWD coordinated treatment pass. Standard: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department aquatic invasive species management guidance for giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) at Caddo Lake, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, EPA-registered contact herbicide (diquat) label plus TPWD biocontrol weevil program, applied here to Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, TX, Harrison County. SDG 6.6 and 15.8. Proof: document only observation log plus mat extent estimate plus GPS plus ranked follow on note Method (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department aquatic invasive species management guidance for giant salvinia (Salvinia molesta) at Caddo Lake, a Ramsar Wetland of International Importance, EPA-registered contact herbicide (diquat) label plus TPWD biocontrol weevil program, applied here to Caddo Lake State Park, Karnack, TX, Harrison County. SDG 6.6 and 15.8.): 1. 1. From the public boat ramp or shoreline at Caddo Lake State Park, photograph the extent of any floating giant salvinia mat without entering the water, stepping onto the mat, or boarding a boat. 2. 2. Estimate the approximate area or percentage of open water surface covered by the mat visible from the shore vantage. 3. 3. Note whether the mat is fragmented, an early sign, or a continuous mat, a sign of established infestation, and photograph from a fixed reference point for future comparison. 4. 4. Record a ranked follow on note naming the site for the TPWD coordinated licensed herbicide and mechanical treatment crew, and check the local heat index forecast before scheduling any follow on visit. Done when: Photo of the floating salvinia mat taken from the public shoreline or boat ramp; Estimate of the approximate area or percentage of open water covered by the mat; Note of whether the mat is fragmented or continuous; Confirmation the water, the mat itself, and any boat were never entered or boarded during the survey; Ranked follow on note naming the site for the TPWD coordinated licensed treatment crew; GPS waypoint of the surveyed shoreline

Where

Caddo Lake State Park (Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, public state park), 245 Park Rd 2, Karnack, TX 75661, Harrison County

Pay

$85 proposed

This packet is not funded yet, so this figure is a proposed price and not money waiting in escrow. If a buyer funds it, approved proof settles that price onchain. If nobody funds it, approved proof earns provable credit toward the work instead of cash. You see which before you claim, never after.

Proof

document only observation log plus mat extent estimate plus GPS plus ranked follow on note

This is exactly what gets it approved. Nothing settles without it.

Level

entry

Open until

2026-11-03

How this work is done

A documented method, so this packet comes out the same whoever does it. Typically 45–90 minutes. Method of record: EPA National Wetland Condition Assessment (rapid method)

Bring

• GPS phone
• quadrat frame
• invasive-species ID reference
• boots
• insect protection
• camera

Steps

1. 1. Navigate to the wetland edge; record GPS; stay on stable ground.
2. 2. Photograph 3 quadrat stations.
3. 3. At each station, estimate percent cover native vs invasive; identify the dominant invasive.
4. 4. Note hydrology / water level and any disturbance.
5. 5. Enter cover percentages, invasive ID, hydrology, GPS, photos into the proof record; sign.

If it does not match the plan

• Standing water + wildlife (snakes/alligators) -> maintain distance; never sample alone.
• High invasive cover -> flag for a management/removal plan.

What counts as done

• Photo of the floating salvinia mat taken from the public shoreline or boat ramp
• Estimate of the approximate area or percentage of open water covered by the mat
• Note of whether the mat is fragmented or continuous
• Confirmation the water, the mat itself, and any boat were never entered or boarded during the survey
• Ranked follow on note naming the site for the TPWD coordinated licensed treatment crew
• GPS waypoint of the surveyed shoreline

Proof is measured against these, not judged by taste.

The standard this serves

Wetland Condition. Wetlands are the landscape's kidneys and nurseries at once: they filter the water, absorb the flood, and raise the young of half the creatures around them. The EPA's rapid assessment gives a trained visitor a way to grade one honestly: the plants present, the water's path, the soil, the wear at the edges. Mastery looks like walking a marsh and knowing, defensibly, how it is doing and what threatens it. This packet is one such visit, one wetland's condition recorded to the method. What is watched can be defended; unwatched wetlands quietly disappear.