"If you go there now, you can see a difference. There are no other plants, no ferns and no animals, no birds. There's just dirt on the ground. Any diversity is gone. Even manatees avoid grazing in areas infested with pepper trees," he said.

So Woolsey and other members of the Friends of Turkey Creek are thrilled with the city's plans to ask the U.S. Department of Commerce for $80,000 to get rid of the non-native plants on the 10-acre island the city bought in 2005.

The island was previously owned by Beville Outlaw and is still called Outlaw Island.

City officials said they plan to rename the island and want citizen suggestions.

Last week, council members agreed to seek the grant to restore the wetlands through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's habitat restoration project. But grants coordinator Eve Owens said it might be the end of the year before the city knows whether it will get any money. The application was due Thursday.

A $4,000 management plan for the island was recently completed by Barile and Associates of Melbourne. It called for the removal of non-native species, replaced with native plants that benefit marine and wildlife in the creek.

City Manager Lee Feldman said the grant requires a local match, and it hasn't been determined yet where that money would come from. The city has a long-range plan for a blueway-greenway through the area. Feldman said the city also agreed to the plan as part of its agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a wetland permit for the city's municipal charter school.

John Mongioi, chairman of the Friends of Turkey Creek, said "the Brazilian peppers have just gone crazy and become quite intrusive."

He said those living along the creek have removed all pepper trees from their properties, but those on the island could spread.

Owens said volunteers, including Friends of Turkey Creek, could be involved in the removal. Woosley said he and others worked at "pepper busting" the nearby Ais Park. Ferns and butterflies have returned.