In 2003, Cape Cod experienced record amounts of rainfall that resulted in extremely high water levels. In the spring, mid-summer, and late summer of that year we attempted to opportunistically control Phragmites in five freshwater ponds within Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) by repeatedly severing stems underwater, at ground level. We hypothesized that the stress of root oxygen deprivation and forced depletion of carbohydrate reserves during re-growth might be sufficient to induce substantial mortality in this particular setting