After 37 years of service, Dr. Lars Anderson retired from the USDA-ARS Exotic & Invasive Weed Research Unit, on December 31, 2011.   His career focused primarily on the biology and management of invasive aquatic weeds; specifically, Egeria, hydrilla, water hyacinth, Eurasian watermilfoil, giant salvinia, curlyleaf pondweed and Caulerpa taxifolia, to name a few.   His research included work on plant growth regulators, herbicide uptake and translocation, generating data to support aquatic herbicide registrations, and the development of effective management strategies using aquatic pesticides.   His research also included evaluating the usefulness of non-chemical control technologies including triploid grass carp, herbivorous insects, plant pathogens and most recently, evaluating the efficacy of bottom barriers for aquatic weed control in Lake Tahoe.

Lars was an active member of APMS since 1977.  He served as President in 1986 as well as chaired several APMS committees over the years.  In addition, Lars held the position as the APMS Representative on the Board of Directors for both CAST (Council for Agriculture and Food Technology) and the WSSA (Weed Science Society of America).  Not only did he serve the national Society in many ways, but he also co-founded the Western Chapter of the Aquatic Plant Management Society and served as its President in 2006/2007.  He is an active member in the Western Society of Weed Science and was recently named as a Fellow of that Society.  Dr. Anderson served on the Editorial Board of Aquatic Nuisance Species Digest and as an Associate Editor for Invasive Plant Science and Management.

Dr. Anderson is to be commended for his dedicated service to the field of aquatic plant management, the APMS and other professional scientific organizations, his leadership in raising awareness about the problems caused by invasive aquatic and wetland plants both nationally and internationally, and his effectiveness as collaborator and partner on invasive aquatic weed management issues in waters of the Western U.S.; particularly, Lake Tahoe and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.