Huron Pines tells us about the work being done in the northeast portion of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula to address Phragmites.
Why is Phragmites an issue in your area?
Phragmites is moving up the Lake Huron coastline from Saginaw Bay, which is heavily infested. In Northeast Michigan, we have many rare and endangered plants and animals that live in coastal habitats, so keeping the Phragmites out of those habitats is a high priority. In addition, most of our inland lakes and rivers are clear of Phragmites, so it is important that we keep it from spreading from those places that do have populations of the plant and can serve as source populations.
What is your organization’s approach to invasive Phragmites management?
Huron Pines organizes the Northeast Michigan Cooperative Weed Management Area. This partnership uses a prioritization system that targets invasive plants threatening special natural communities, with early detection and rapid response as a goal. Phragmites has been one of our top invasive plants and treating it forms the majority of our on-the-ground work each year.
Huron Pines works with many partners in this effort:
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
Michigan Department of Natural Resources
Michigan Natural Features Inventory
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
Natural Resources Conservation Service
Paul H. Young Chapter of Trout Unlimited
The Carls Foundation
DTE Energy Foundation
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service
Au Sable River Property Owners Association
What is the overall goal for the Northeast Cooperative Weed Management Area?
The Northeast Michigan Cooperative Weed Management Area provides a framework that will guide our efforts to control invasive weeds in Northeast Michigan, acquire and allocate resources and set goals/objectives to work toward and achieve. The purpose of this cooperative weed management area is to stop the introduction, spread, and distribution of invasive weed species in the ecosystems along the Lake Huron shoreline and adjacent ecosystems to which it connects. (for more specifics, see the Northeast Michigan CWMA agreement).
What type of land does your program target?
Our SWAT Team works mostly with private landowners (250 in 2012) but also treats public lands. We have completed projects in State Parks and multiple U.S. Forest Service properties in Northeast Michigan.
Image courtesy of the Northeast Michigan CWMA.
Keep reading about Huron Pines’ on-the-ground Phragmites management project….
For more information explore the Huron Pines website or contact
Melissa Buzzard
Stewardship Specialist
Huron Pines
4241 Old US 27 South, Suite 2
Gaylord, MI 49735
(989) 448-2293 ext. 17