Hydrilla Infestations in Florida Freshwater Bodies: How Results from a Management Needs Assessment Survey Helped Develop Suitable Information Delivery Platforms

Hydrilla is an invasive aquatic plant that is expensive to control and exhibits increasing resistance to commonly used herbicides. Alternative control tactics for implementation in novel integrated management strategies are being investigated, but information needs to be delivered to stakeholders so new tactics can be adopted and used. Here, we report results from a low-cost, Web-based survey that assessed stakeholder access to hydrilla management information in Florida. We highlight the general benefits of needs assessment surveys for project development and exemplify how results from such surveys can be used by Extension professionals to tailor their information platforms to stakeholder-preferred outlets