We made the front page of the Valley Gazette this summer! The Carson Trout Lepine and Greenan Lakes Association (President Wendy Wolak leading the initiative) requested assistance from their neighbouring associations – KAPOA and the Kaszuby Cottagers Association – to mitigate a stand of invasive phragmites located on County Road 62 just south of the Ashgrove Inn. Funding of black tarp, garbage bags and equipment was provided by a grant from the Federation of Ontario Cottagers Association (FOCA) Green Shovels Campaign (in coalition with Ducks Unlimited Canada, Invasive Species Centre, The Nature Conservancy of Canada, Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters, and Ontario Turtle Conservation Centre).
As you might have read in the Valley Gazette 2-page feature, phragmites is a prohibited plant in Ontario because it is an aggressive reed that spreads quickly by its seeds as well as outcompetes native species for water and nutrients. Its roots are toxic to surrounding plants such as bull rushes. It is considered the number one invasive plant in Ontario as it threatens our wetlands and our shoreline ecosystems throughout the Valley. It destroys habitats for ducks, frogs and species at risk such as turtles, and it costs the province and municipalities millions of dollars to mitigate.
Special thanks to John Briggs, KAPOA member, who saved the day by bringing his brush cutter out to lop off those pesky phragmites! The spades (and their operators) were struggling to do the job manually, and it was looking pretty bleak until John and his equipment arrived.
Thanks as well to the Madawaska Valley Municipality for waiving the disposal fee for the nearly 100 bags of phrags that were collected.
The tarps will remain in place, with thanks to the permission of the Laurin family who reside behind the county property, until November 2023. With any luck and a good deal of cooking under the black tarps, we should see a significant reduction in the phragmites stand.
