March 1, 2024 By Katie Roundtree

Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District (“Northern”) owns over 2,000 acres of preserves, approximately 50 miles of canals, and more than 370 water bodies with associated maintenance areas or easements. An abundance of native animals and plant species reside in those areas. Northern’s Staff take pride in ensuring their continued success.

Unfortunately, Nonnative species also encroach and reside in many of the same areas. While some do not cause problems, others are considered invasive, meaning they negatively impact native fish and wildlife, cause extensive damage, or threaten human health and welfare. As discussed last month, wild hogs are one type of invasive species whose population continues to expand as they become used to different climates. Iguanas, Burmese pythons, Tegus, Cuban tree frogs, Cane toads, Muscovy ducks, and Egyptian geese are other commonly encountered invasive species in our area.

Nonnative species are not protected in Florida except by the anti-cruelty law, Florida Statute § 828.12. They can be captured and humanely killed on private property at any time with landowner permission. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (“FWC”) recommends contacting a nuisance wildlife control operator if concerned about invasive species on their property. A list of trappers can be found at MyFWC.com/Trappers.

A recent incident involving the shooting of Egyptian geese on the bank of a lake owned by Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District was brought to the attention of Northern’s Staff and Board of Supervisors. During a recent board meeting, the Board members discussed the hunting of invasive species on Northern-owned property. They asked that all landowners be made aware of the following:

Please be advised that, while permissible on private property with permission, hunting an invasive species is expressly prohibited on real property owned by the Northern Palm Beach County Improvement District. This property includes lakes, canals, parks and preserves owned by Northern. The only exception is state-licensed trappers authorized by Northern to trap and remove wild hogs, threatening alligators, or other invasive species.

The FWC asks that the public report sightings of nonnative species. Reporting observations helps to manage nonnative species. The best reports of nonnative species are credible reports. These are reports that the FWC can verify for the species in question, and all necessary data is included. Credible reports contain three elements:

• A photograph showing the animal in question that is not blurry and has a high enough resolution so that it can be enlarged to ensure species identification
• The location where the animal was seen. GPS coordinates are best, but the location can also be a street address or a detailed description of the area.
• The date when the animal was seen.

You can use the web form at IveGot1.org to report nonnative animals. The form will prompt you for the information and has a map where you can select the location if you do not have the GPS coordinates.