George Wharton, chief conservation officer for Florida Fish and Wildlife (FWC), told the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government that invasive nonnative species remain a major ecological and economic problem in Florida and outlined the agency’s prevention, containment and long‑term management approaches.

“Preventing the introduction, release, and establishment of invasive wildlife is key to success for cost effective management,” Wharton said in his presentation. He told senators that more than 500 nonnative species have been reported in Florida (not all with reproducing populations), that 239 risk screenings have been completed to date and that the agency’s regulatory classifications — including conditional and prohibited listings — are based on risk assessments intended to prevent establishment of high‑risk species.

Wharton described FWC enforcement and undercover work with federal partners. “In a recent case, it was Operation Viper,” he said; that long‑term undercover operation, he reported, “ended with 600 charges being brought by our investigators.” He said FWC officers work with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA, and that inspections at ports of entry use detection dogs and imaging to intercept illegal shipments.

The presentation highlighted public engagement and removal programs. Wharton said the Florida Python Challenge — run jointly by FWC and the South Florida Water Management District with the Waialae Foundation of Florida — drew 934 participants from 30 states and Canada who removed a record 294 Burmese pythons from South Florida in the most recent challenge. He said the 2025 lionfish challenge removed 30,523 lionfish statewide with 518 participants, and that lionfish removal since 2014 has exceeded 2,000,000 fish.

Wharton described outreach and rehoming programs. He said the Exotic Pet Amnesty program has received more than 8,000 rehoming requests and completed more than 4,700 successful adoptions, and that the I’ve Got 1 hotline — a public reporting app and website — has increased reports of nonnative species, helping FWC verify reports and deploy staff, contractors or volunteers as appropriate.

The agency has been piloting consolidated contracts for python removal. “One more recent project is a pilot program with QM and Versa Leathers to manage python removal contract program,” Wharton said, adding that consolidating multiple smaller contracts has saved staff time and increased removals in that program. He also noted ongoing research into detection and removal technologies — including drones, sentinel snakes, robotic bait and other innovations — but cautioned that many techniques are still being evaluated for cost‑effectiveness.

During committee questions, Wharton said FWC has suspended all SAL (special activity/collecting) permits for any threatened species until the commission can meet and decide how to address those permits in the future. “We have currently suspended all SAL permits for any threatened species until the commission has time to meet and discuss how those permits will be addressed in the future,” he said when asked about a giant manta ray permit.

Wharton also discussed the agency’s recent decision on bears: FWC commissioners approved options to allow a limited bear hunt and staff issued 172 permits across four subpopulations that will be managed in a phased permitting process. “We’re on track to have our first hunt this year,” he said, and described the hunt as a limited, targeted population management tool connected to the agency’s long‑term bear management program.

Senators raised practical barriers to removal work on some federal lands and asked whether partners’ rules constrain operations. Wharton said federal partners are increasingly cooperative and flagged that allowing commercialization of python hides and permitting use of vehicles and dogs on some lands could aid removal programs. He told the committee that technologies funded or piloted by the legislature — such as drones — show promise but that FWC is still evaluating effectiveness and cost per animal removed.

On iguanas, Wharton said current removal tools make eradication unlikely and described iguanas as in the “long‑term management” category; he added that cold weather events have previously reduced some reptile populations and that a durable technical solution would be needed to reduce iguana populations at scale.

Wharton closed by stressing the role of partners, research and public reporting in detecting and limiting new invasions. “New innovations offer exciting opportunities to expand and enhance the detection and control efforts, and we're seeing real success in our public lands with these efforts and appreciate all the continued support,” he said.

The presentation and the senators’ questions did not produce committee votes or formal committee directives; they recorded updates, clarifications and requests for continued engagement as the agency moves into the budget process.