Fight over exotic fern threatens future of South Florida wildlife refuge

Miami Old World climbing fern, the monster vine packing 100-foot long tendrils that has infested huge swaths of the Everglades, with a particularly ferocious choke hold on the tree islands of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge on its northern tip, may have finally succeeded in killing the refuge. In August, the South Florida Water Management District, which owns the 144,000 acres occupied by the 65-year-old refuge, threatened to abolish a lease agreement with its caretaker, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. As landlord, the district said it could no longer abide by its tenant's lousy housekeeping and failure to control the fern. "I don't know what else you do. Three years ago the (governing board) out of frustration invited the Department of Interior to the refuge so they could see the damage," said district executive director Pete Antonacci. "The Department of Interior came down and saw the damage and did nothing." But the refuge, and a collection of environmental groups that have fiercely bird-dogged restoration of the Everglades, say they were surprised by the district's abrupt threat after years of collaboration. Since a 2000 lease was negotiated and spelled out a joint effort, the federal wildlife service has spent nearly $30 million to control invasive plants including the fern, now found from Jacksonville south to Cape Sable.