I have been out of the marsh for 19 days getting a new wheel on my right leg. All is well—thanks for asking!
Much has changed in the past few weeks. Pools 3 and 4 have salt grass mowed to define edges. Boat lanes have been cleaned. Lots of cat tails have suffered from the spraying. Areas in 4 over by KWEC have been broken up. When these areas are flooded, there will be margins for duck hunters to use to set up and have success. I’m sure Karl will be moving water into these areas in the near future and life will go on. It is a huge project to prepare such a large area for duck hunting, and the years of successful trips are a clear testimonial to the hard work expended by Karl and his crew for the seasons of fun we have enjoyed. We are grateful.
I don’t think the general public (I didn’t until I did some research and visited with Karl) understands the awful threat of Phragmites. This is a vicious, perennial, aggressive grass that out-competes native plants and displaces animals and birds. Deer can’t penetrate a dense area of growth. It probably came from Europe in the early 19th century and has spread via railroad development and roadway construction in the 20th century. It can grow up to 18 ft. tall and obscure the view. The vegetation can be very dense and the abrasive stalks can cause cuts and abrasions. It reduces habitat for native fish and wildlife, limits bird-watching opportunities, and affects naturalists, birders, boaters and hunters. If not managed, it is a fire threat since it is dense and creates large areas of tinder-dry vegetation. It is too thick to provide shelter and has no food value. It blocks waterways and canals. It spreads by wind or animal-born seeds. Most commonly, it spreads by horizontal above-ground stolons and rhizomes at the rate of 30 feet per year. There are marshes on the east coast that previously were wonderful wetland areas that are now unusable by human or wildlife due to this plant.
Here is a clump of Phragmities in the roadway ditch across from KWEC. It was treated this week. Drive out and look at that plant and hope we don’t see it ever again. Careful and targeted applications of specific herbicides are beneficial. We have more Phragmites in our marsh than you would expect. There is another plot of the plant up on highway 281 heading toward Russell. This will be a persistent threat to our marsh probably forever. Control of that weed consumes a lot of the energy and resources of the department. We had a patch in our duck club and burned it, sprayed it, and worked the ground and it still survived. It is a very bad weed.
I drove the Bottoms today and am happy to report that the fall migration and upcoming duck season seem to be in order. The guardian of the Marsh has to be the Great Blue Heron. I have so many pictures of these elegant, cranky birds—but it was a comforting moment to see several of them on the drive. There are Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Pelicans, and I saw juvenile Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned night herons. Gulls are arriving as well as some Terns. The serenity of the marsh is always amazing to me—take a drive and enjoy!!! It sure is nice to be home!
Doc