|
|
Phragmites.org
This page is http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/newsletters/41-50.php
This site hosted by StewartFarm.org, 2007 Stewart Road, Harsens Island, Michigan 48028.
Phragmites.org Newsletter Archives 41-50
September 26, 2008 through March 17, 2009
presented below in reverse order
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 50B - March 17, 2009
Charlevoix Conservation District, Traverse City workshop - correction
The full day of Phragmites control public workshops on June 6, 2009 in Traverse
City is being conducted by The Grand Traverse Regional Phragmites Stakeholder
Committee. Details will be available soon on their website at www.gtbay.org
. In the meantime some additional information is available in the Charlevoix
Conservation District newsletter at http://www.charlevoixcounty.org/downloads/march_2009_newsletter_1.pdf
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 50 - March 16, 2009
Charlevoix Conservation District moves against Phragmites
The Charlevoix Conservation District in the North Western portion of Michigan's
lower peninsula is taking steps to control Phragmites in their area. In January
2009 they held a very successful all-day training session for area stakeholders
to bring the Phragmites problem to their attention. As a follow up they have
installed two pages on their website, dedicated most of their March newsletter
to the subject and will conduct a full day of public workshops on June 6,
2009 in Traverse City.
Their March newsletter is available at http://www.charlevoixcounty.org/downloads/march_2009_newsletter_1.pdf
Their webpages are available at
Invasive Phragmites Information and Invasive Phragmites (continued)
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 49 - March 6, 2009
Why we use professionals to burn Phragmites
Yesterday I received the following linked photo from Chuck Miller. It is a
view of a Phragmites burn on Walpole Island taken from his place on Harsens
Island, almost a mile away. If you look closely you can make out the water
line on the other side of the river and the tops of the Phragmites, which
are about twelve to fourteen feet tall. Using that as a scale I estimate those
flames to be at least 40 feet high.
http://stewartfarm.org/phragmites/photos/WalpoleIslandPhragmitesFire.jpg
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 48B, February 27, 2009
More ideas on how to cut Phragmites
We have read previously about using animals to keep phragmites cut back, however,
I thought I would share with you a couple of new articles on the subject.
Check out The University of Maryland article
Sustainable Grazing to Control Phragmites australis
http://www.enst.umd.edu/about/Jennifer/index.cfm
In it the author says "After she gathers her results, Jennifer hopes her findings will encourage land managers in the Chesapeake Bay region and elsewhere to use sustainable grazing practices for controlling invasive species, rather than environmentally-damaging herbicides."
Also, the following is a case study from Conservation Magazine
Restoring Wetland Habitats with Cows and other Livestock
http://www.conservationmagazine.org/articles/v2n2/restoring-wetland-habitats-with-cows-and-other-livestock/
In this article the author says "I was struck by the contrast between grazed wetland pastures and adjacent areas. In the wetland pastures, cows had pruned purple loosestrife and/or phragmites to knee-height, effectively eliminating it's canopy-closing ability and reducing its productivity."
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 48A , February 13, 2009
We received ideas on how to cut Phragmites
In newsletter #48 I asked for people to send me their thoughts on how to cut
large areas of Phragmites where there is six to twelve inches of water which
does not freeze deep enough to support a tractor. Here are some of the answers
I received.
#1 - From Greg Eagle, Land Protection Specialist, Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy
"I don't have direct experience with this method, but my perception is
that the best cutting device would be a motorized sickle bar. I do believe
there are walk-behind sickle bars, which might be more conducive to ground
that won't support a tractor PTO driven sickle bar. In theory, the sickle
bar method would lay down the plant cleanly and, contrary to a brush hog,
doesn't have to collapse the plant before mowing, which can result in plants
not be cut, but merely pushed over."
For details of a walk-behind sickle bars click the links below.
http://www.simpletractors.com/walkers/sickle_bar.htm
#2 - From Gary W. Crawford, Senior Environmental Professional, Superior Environmental
and Aquatic Services LLC
"We use an Argo pulling a brush cutter for thick stuff. We own and operate
both six-wheel and eight-wheel Argos. Both are equipped with tracks. We pull
a DR pull-behind brush cutter. For light stuff, we use a weed trimmer with
a circular saw blade on the end."
For photos of Argos click the link below.
http://www.argocat.com/applications.html
For photos of DR pull-behind brushcutters click the link below.
http://www.drpower.com/TwoStepModelDetail.aspx?p1Name=TractorAttachments&Name=FABTow17HP
For photos of a weed trimmer with a circular saw blade click the link below.
http://www.comparestoreprices.co.uk/grass-trimmer/homelite-30cc-brushcutter-and-line-trimmer.asp
#3 - From Janice M. Gilbert, Ph.D., Wetland Ecologist, Lake Erie Management
Unit
Ministry of Natural Resources
"I have been working with Frank Letourneau, who is a licensed pesticide
applicator with over 15 years of Phragmites control experience in Southwestern
Ontario. We have been dealing with Phragmites control in difficult to access,
high value wetland systems and Frank has retrofitted his ARGO to make this
work possible. He uses this ARGO to pull a 9' roller to flatten the Phragmites
prior to burning. We don't recommend using a brush hog since it tends to disperse
the seeds and make it harder to get rid of them in the fire."
For photos of their ARGO and roller click the link below.
(Be patient, it is about a five MB file)
http://stewartfarm.org/phragmites/PP/Rolling,burning.ppt
Thank you to all who responded with their ideas.
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 48 , February 8, 2009
We need ideas on how to cut Phragmites
We know that it is best to cut Phragmites when the ground is frozen to avoid
disturbing the soil, stirring up other invasive seeds and damaging any native
plant root systems. It looks like that opportunity may have passed for this
winter. Here in SE Michigan we have a week of 40 degree weather staring us
in the face. Those of you in more northern climates may still have a little
time to work on it.
Here's the problem I ran into this winter which someone out there may be able to help with. My tractor with brush hog worked just fine on frozen ground, even with twelve inches of snow on the ground. However, The areas of my property with six to twelve inches of water never froze deep enough to support the weight of the tractor. Though it was five degrees below zero three weeks ago there was only a couple inches of ice on the water due to the insulation provided by the dense Phragmites and the snow cover. The only option was to cut it all by hand or cut a very wide fire break by hand so I can have it burned off later. I couldn't even use my walk behind brush hog because the Phragmites was so dense that it just falls over and creates a ramp for the brush hog to walk up instead of cutting.
If anyone has ideas for other methods of cutting Phragmites in shallow water areas please drop a note to Bob@Phragmites.org and I will share your thoughts with everyone on the list.
Thanks.
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 47 - February 3, 2009
Phragmites presentation, Gaylord, MI, Feb. 7, 2009
A news article titled "Invasive species focus on Huron Pines meeting"
in the Gaylord Times Herald announced an upcoming meeting which includes a
discussion of the community efforts to control Phragmites on Beaver Island,
MI.
In part the article said:
"Brian Mastenbrook, a wildlife biologist with the Michigan Department
of Natural Resources, is discussing a community approach to controlling a
wetland invasive, phragmites (frag-mahy-teez) on Beaver Island.
To learn more about the impact of invasive species in Michigan and what communities
are doing about it, attend the Huron Pines Annual Meeting Saturday, Feb. 7,
at the Gaylord Knights of Columbus Hall, 2573 Wilkinson Road."
The full article is available at :
http://www.gaylordheraldtimes.com/articles/2009/01/30/news/local_news/doc498345579b004191190480.txt
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 46 - Jan. 28, 2009
New Powerpoint Presentation added to Phragmites.org website
A few days ago I conducted a Phragmites Control Workshop at the Stewardship
Network Annual Conference in East Lansing, Michigan. Most of the material
was in a Powerpoint presentation. That Powerpoint is available for viewing
on the homepage of Phragmites.org or by clicking on the following link.
New
Bob's Powerpoint Presentation
http://stewartfarm.org/phragmites/PP/Phragmites%20Powerpoint.ppt
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 45 - Jan. 16, 2009
Phragmites - Native vs. Introduced
A couple of days ago I received the following email from Kevin Cronk from
the upper part of Michigan's lower peninsula.
" . . . . last summer . . we surveyed the Cheboygan River watershed
to document native & invasive Phragmites. Attached are some nice shots
of large stands of native Phragmites growing far from shore in Black Lake
(and we found only native throughout the lake and most of the watershed -
yeah!). Black Lake is a 10,000-acre lake with a maximum depth of ~50 feet
in Cheboygan and Presque Isle Counties in the Northern Lower Peninsula of
Michigan.
Kevin Cronk
Monitoring and Research Coordinator
Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council
http://www.watershedcouncil.org "
We have all heard that there are native Phragmites which should not be treated with herbicide. Native Phragmites is not aggressive like the introduced variety and should be protected from damage. We don't get to see the native variety very often and we should be familiar with how it looks. I am sending this out because it included a couple of great photos. You can see that it is not nearly as dense as the introduced variety.
http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/photos/Phragmites_BlackLake2008_03.jpg
http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/photos/Phragmites_BlackLake2008_04.jpg
For more information on identifying native vs. introduced Phragmites see
Cornell University http://www.invasiveplants.net/phragmites/phrag/morph.htm
and
Plant Conservation Alliance http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/phau1.htm
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter # 44 - January 9, 2009
It's Time To Start Your 2009 Phragmites Control.
If you are planning to cut your Phragmites prior to a fall 2009 treatment
with herbicide soon might be a great time to do that cutting.
Why cut it now? If you cut it when the ground is frozen you will not disturb
the soil as much. Disturbing the soil would encourage further Phragmites growth
and soil erosion and could damage native plants. Cut as high as possible to
cause the least disturbance.
Why cut it before herbicide treatment? The stalks which are standing now are
all dormant dead material. These will not grow again. The stalks which are
green this coming summer will be new ones growing from the ground up. The
only stalks which can carry the herbicide down to the roots this coming fall
are the green ones which will grow new this summer. By cutting the dead material
off before the new growth comes up you get that material out of the way for
a good herbicide treatment of the green stuff. If it is left in place it will
catch some of your chemicals which could otherwise fall on the green stems
and leaves which you want to treat.
In addition, I have found it much easier to get spraying equipment through
a field of this year's growth than a field which includes years of rigid stalks.
On an ATV with a 25 gallon tank on the back if you haven't cut down the old
material over the winter you can tip over backwards as the dead stalks you
are running over build up in front of you like a ramp. It's not a good situation.
Watch for those special days with little snow and frozen ground and get a
head start on your 2009 Phragmites control. If you are cutting near or over
water controlled under Michigan's Great Lakes Submerged Lands Part 325 you
may need a permit. If you have questions about permits to cut Phragmites in
Michigan you can call Tracy Collin at MDEQ at 517-241-4506. Please make sure
you are on solid ice, both with nature and The State of Michigan.
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter #43B - January 4, 2009
Regarding Phragmites seed banks - Continued.
In response to Newsletter #43 a couple of weeks ago, I received a couple of
emails with additional information on the subject of Phragmites seed banks.
Here they are:
Email #1 - from Karin Kettenring
"I wanted to add my $0.02 to the email Bob just sent around.
We (Karin Kettenring, Dennis Whigham, Heather Baron, and Melissa McCormick) just wrapped up a large study of Phragmites in brackish wetlands in the Chesapeake Bay region and we found the following things:
--Seed viability varies greatly from patch to patch but those patches that produce lots of viable seeds seem to do so across multiple years.
--Those patches that produce lots of viable seeds have more genetic diversity and also tend to be in wetlands where the watershed has lots of development as opposed to forested watersheds (developed watersheds are also known to have higher nutrient levels - nitrogen - in their waters and in the leaves of Phragmites). We have just completed a follow-up experiment looking at cross vs. self-pollination and nutrients on viable seed production but don't have the results yet to clarify the patterns we saw in the field.
--We found a LOT of genetic diversity within and among patches of Phragmites across the Chesapeake Bay indicating that most spread is via seed.
--Phragmites DOES form a seed bank, particularly under patches of Phragmites known to produce lots of viable seeds.
--Phragmites seeds are much more likely to germinate in the field in disturbances where light is not limiting (so limiting disturbances and maintaining intact native plant communities is critical). That said, we found very low survival of Phragmites seedlings.
I'd be happy to provide more information to those who are interested. Obviously some of the patterns we found may not hold in MI but they should give some insight to managers.
Published reports are forthcoming...
Sincerely,
Karin Kettenring
Assistant Professor, Wetland Ecology
Department of Watershed Sciences
Utah State University
karin.kettenring@usu.edu
435.797.2546 (office phone)
435.797.1871 (fax)
Office: Natural Resources 354
Mailing address:
5210 Old Main Hill, NR 210
Logan, UT 84322
Website: http://www.cnr.usu.edu/htm/facstaff/Kettenring
Email #2 - from Barbara Lucas
"That phragmites seeds are not viable after one season is incredibly good news. I can't find any studies about it on the net, can anyone please send me whatever they might come across on this? The only thing I could find remotely related was a study entitled: "The seed banks of Phragmites-dominated brackish marshes" (Collaborators: Dennis Whigham and Andy Baldwin) which pursued the question: Does Phragmites form a seed bank? The investigators found that "Phragmites seedling emergence from seed bank samples was 25-60 times higher from patches known to produce viable Phragmites seed." They didn't analyze how old the seeds in the seedbank were, so could have been just new seeds.
BTW, while searching for this I found an interesting website (which includes a video) about preventing the spread of phragmites from wastewater treatment plants (where it is used for drying out sludge), which has always been a concern of mine: http://www.ocean.udel.edu/halophyte/ReedDryingBeds08.htm
Barbara Lucas, Environmental Media Specialist
Washtenaw County Environmental Health Dept
Website: www.ewashtenaw.org/green-media
E-mail: lucasb@ewashtenaw.org
Cell: 248-974-6942
Thank you both for your additional input on this subject.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
For reference here is a copy of the original Newsletter #43
In a recent communication between Pam Grassmick from Beaver Island and Dr. Bernt Blossey of Cornell University, a well-known expert in the biology of Phragmites, the question of seed viability was discussed. They are allowing me to share Dr. Blossey's comments on the subject.
"Seed viability
You are right, seed viability varies tremendously among populations and between
years. I have seen stands with very high seed viability one year decline to
near zero the next. It is not clear what factors are influencing this pattern
or whether it can be compared to mast fruiting event of trees (i.e. they would
store resources until fruiting becomes possible). Botanists tell me that flowering
itself and producing pollen is not energetically expensive so all populations
appear to produce pollen each year but not all produce seed. I do not expect
that herbicide treatment will affect seed viability (although I can't be certain).
Most likely shoots were killed before seeds were ripe so I don't expect viable
seeds in those heads. However, if there are viable seeds, they will only be
viable for a single growing season. It appears that there is no seed bank
for the species (for all that we know at present)."
This is good news for all of us fighting Phragmites. Often we have heard that we don't need to be concerned about removing the seed heads to help control Phragmites. Now we know why. We know that phragmites control involves a long-term commitment to monitoring and retreating as needed. If some of this year's seeds do germinate we will just get them next year and as we deplete the number of seed bearing plants we don't really need to worry about all those seeds which dropped over the years coming back to get us.
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter #43 - December 19, 2008
Good news regarding Phragmites seed banks - There are none.
In a recent communication between Pam Grassmick from Beaver Island and Dr.
Bernt Blossey of Cornell University, a well-known expert in the biology of
Phragmites, the question of seed viability was discussed. They are allowing
me to share Dr. Blossey's comments on the subject.
"Seed viability
You are right, seed viability varies tremendously among populations and between
years. I have seen stands with very high seed viability one year decline to
near zero the next. It is not clear what factors are influencing this pattern
or whether it can be compared to mast fruiting event of trees (i.e. they would
store resources until fruiting becomes possible). Botanists tell me that flowering
itself and producing pollen is not energetically expensive so all populations
appear to produce pollen each year but not all produce seed. I do not expect
that herbicide treatment will affect seed viability (although I can't be certain).
Most likely shoots were killed before seeds were ripe so I don't expect viable
seeds in those heads. However, if there are viable seeds, they will only be
viable for a single growing season. It appears that there is no seed bank
for the species (for all that we know at present)."
This is good news for all of us fighting Phragmites. Often we have heard that we don't need to be concerned about removing the seed heads to help control Phragmites. Now we know why. We know that phragmites control involves a long-term commitment to monitoring and retreating as needed. If some of this year's seeds do germinate we will just get them next year and as we deplete the number of seed bearing plants we don't really need to worry about all those seeds which dropped over the years coming back to get us.
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter #42 - December 8, 2008
Did you remember to file your Treatment report with the DEQ ?
If you obtained a permit from the Michigan DEQ in 2008 for Pesticide Application
to Surface Waters of The State of Michigan don't forget to file your Treatment
Report. That permit is the standard permit which is required for Phragmites
treatment with State approved herbicide when required by the NREPA 1994 PA
451. The treatment report was due to be postmarked by November 30. If you
can't find your original of the blank treatment report form a copy is available
at http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-water-illm-eqp2792-1-1002.pdf
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org
Phragmites.org Newsletter #41 - September 26, 2008
This weekend may be your last chance to spray for good control of your Phragmites
The weather forecast for South East Michigan calls for chance of rain starting
Monday, September 29 through Wednesday or Thursday. Since September is the
time to spray to get the best results the next two days, Saturday and Sunday,
Sept. 27 & 28 may be our last chance this year. The real deadline is of
course the first killing frost, however, with a low predicted for Wednesday
of 41 degrees F. who knows how soon that frost might come.
Good Luck.
______________________________________________________________________
To be removed from this mailing list send a message to Bob@Phragmites.org which says "remove." Archived copies of past newsletters are available online at http://www.stewartfarm.org/phragmites/archives.php See http://www.phragmites.info for general information on phragmites and http://www.phragmites.org for detailed information on phragmites control.
Bob Williams
Bob@phragmites.org
StewartFarm.org