HERALD TRIBUNE (Sarasota, Florida) 11 December 07 On Gasparilla Island, a split over iguanas (Kate Spinner)
The same expert who showed wildlife officials how to drive Gambian giant pouched rats from the Florida Keys and nuisance brown treesnakes from Guam is planning to help Charlotte County stamp out spiny-tailed iguanas on Gasparilla Island.
But Richard Engeman, a Colorado-based scientist who specializes in nuisance species eradication, may face an even bigger challenge this time: Charlotte controls only the northern portion of the seven-mile long island.
Lee County controls the rest and relies on a conventional trapper to reduce the population of the proliferating reptiles, which devour the eggs of endangered birds and destroy the posh lawns of the rich and famous in Boca Grande.
Engeman, on the other hand, plans detailed studies of the iguanas so he can develop better traps targeting their specific vulnerabilities.
Whether the counties' different strategies for combatting the shared problem will mesh is unclear.
"It will still be beneficial because there will still be some eradication going on. It's better than nothing at all," said Missy Christie, environmental specialist for Charlotte County's natural resources division.
Christie has been working with island residents to develop the agreement with the wildlife services branch of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Charlotte commissioners will decide today whether to sign a one-year, $52,000 agreement with the federal agency.
The USDA often works with local governments to solve conflicts between invasive, nonnative wildlife and people. Eradicating the iguanas is important to protect a number of rare species, including least terns, gopher tortoises and sea turtles.
Lee County attacked the iguana problem last year by hiring a trapper. Since then, about 5,300 iguanas have been captured at a cost of more than $100,000.
A study four years ago estimated the island's iguana population at more than 10,000.
Lee residents are happy with the trapper and did not want to change tactics, said Libby Walker, the county's public resources director. Walker has been a liaison between the Lee County government and island residents who are paying for the work.
Charlotte thought the wildlife services' approach offered more efficiency and useful research. The iguana problem in Charlotte is spreading beyond Gasparilla Island to the county's mainland.
Sightings have also been reported in Sarasota County, Christie said.
Once Charlotte signs the federal agency agreement, scientists will quickly capture iguanas and send them to the wildlife services lab in Gainesville for study.
Research will also determine where the animals congregate and how many there are, Engeman said.
The work should pinpoint weaknesses in the iguanas' reproductive behavior and possibly in how they feed.
Solid research on what the animals eat, when they are most active and how they are most vulnerable will help the agency trap more iguanas with less effort and expense, officials said.
"We don't go in there with guns blazing," said Bernice Constantine, state director of the wildlife services office in Gainesville.
Should Charlotte successfully rid iguanas from its portion of the island, the county can continue surveillance to trap animals that cross the border from Lee County, he said.
On Gasparilla Island, a split over iguanas