SBEP Volunteers and Partners Have Fun Tackling Invasive Vegetation at Red Bug Slough

SARASOTA – The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (SBEP)’s Bay Guardians volunteers removed nuisance exotic vegetation from Red Bug Slough Preserve in Sarasota on Saturday, February 27th.

See Photos from the Event

Invasive exotic plants reduce the quality of wildlife habitats by competing with native plants. If left unchecked, invasive vegetation can lead to erosion from banks along waterways due to loss of the native plants that stabilized the bank. This makes invasive vegetation in Red Bug Slough a problem for the whole Sarasota Bay watershed. Sediment can wash from eroded banks in Red Bug Slough into Phillippi Creek, which flows into Sarasota Bay. This volunteer event will contribute to the SBEP and Sarasota County’s efforts to improve water quality in Sarasota Bay and its tributaries by addressing erosion and pollution problems at their watershed sources.

The SBEP manages the Bay Guardians program in partnership with Around the Bend Nature Tours. This event is supported by Sarasota County Parks and Recreation, Friends of Red Bug Slough, the Science and Environment Council of Southwest Florida, and the Serenoa Chapter of the Native Plant Society.

The Sarasota Bay Estuary Program is dedicated to restoring the area's greatest natural asset—Sarasota Bay. Special thanks are offered to its partners: Sarasota County, Manatee County, City of Sarasota, City of Bradenton, Town of Longboat Key, Southwest Florida Water Management District, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.