Abstract: Controlling salt marsh mosquitoes has been a challenge in Florida since the 1920s. Efforts to eliminate the salt marsh mosquitoes began with draining, ditching and filling. In the 1950s, construction began on the creation of mosquito control impoundments within the salt marshes along the east coast. Impoundments were created by constructing earthen dikes around the marsh to isolate the high salt marshes and mangrove swamps from the adjacent estuary. Environmental concerns raised in the late 1970s brought about the creation of the Subcommittee on Managed Marshes (SOMM), which was a subcommittee of the Florida Coordinating Council on Mosquito Control (FCCMC). The FCCMC is an advisory group that is responsible for providing review and comment on saltmarsh management plans. Over the years, SOMM established guidelines for impoundment management and through several research efforts, developed the Rotational Impoundment Management technique, known as RIM. The presentation will overview the history of impoundments and the challenges, both old and new, of managing these salt marshes.
