Fighting phragmites: Collaborative Effort Aimed At Eradicating Invasive Plant

The Herald Journal

By Katie Peikes Staff Writer, Herald Journal
Reprinted with permission

Rapidly growing on the grounds of Bear Lake is an invasive species that is not easily eradicated.

Fortunately, a multi-year effort to treat and reduce the species in the hopes of preserving the freshwater body and its surrounding area is gaining momentum.

The invasive plant known as phragmites affects the recreational access, activities and the scenic value along the beaches, which is why it needs to be diminished, said Matt Coombs, Bear River Area Sovereign Lands Coordinator for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands.

“Fifty thousand people go to the Bear Lake area on a busy weekend in the summer,” Coombs said. “Just for landowners who want access to the lake, it’s tough to get through (the phragmites).”

The tall, dense thickets of phragmites also crowd out native vegetation and wildlife, and alter the hydrology of water systems by by trapping sediments, inhibiting water movement, and blocking sunlight from reaching the water.

Five years ago, the counties surrounding Bear Lake met to discuss the issue and possible solutions for eradicating phragmites, a tall, widespread weed that thrives in wetland areas.

“When we started seeing phragmites up here at the lake, we got really concerned,” David Cottle from Bear Lake Watch said. “I’d seen what it was doing around the Great Salt Lake and Utah Lake.”

Utah decided something needed to be done, and five years ago, the Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands partnered with the Division of Wildlife Resources, Rich County, Garden City, Bear Lake Regional Commission, Bear Lake Watch and local volunteers to reduce the phragmites’ growth.

“It’s a pretty widespread problem,” Coombs said. “We lose habitat value.”

For the last five years, the group has treated phragmites from the end of August through the beginning of September. They spray aquatic label chemicals in areas where phragmites show high, persistent growth. They then remove the phragmites from the area by burning them off, or by cutting or mowing them.

The following spring, the group monitors the plant to see how effective treatment has been, and to estimate how much treatment they will need to apply at the end of summer.

So far, treatment has been effective, minimizing the amount of days the group has to work. Treatment, which used to take the group a week, only took them three days this year. Coombs estimates that they spent 10 hours per day spraying chemicals and cutting the weeds at the lake.

“I don’t know that we can claim that we’re ever going to eradicate the phragmites,” Coombs said, as the group has only taken care of the Utah side of Bear Lake and there are still phragmites to treat in Idaho.

Regardless, the effort has significantly diminished the height of the continuously growing weed.

“People have been surprised that ‘wow they’ve really knocked it back’, especially in some areas where it was 10 to 12 feet high,” Coombs said. “We were able to move a lot more quickly than we expected this year because we’re finding less of it.”

Cottle, from Idaho, said that Idaho has been aware of the growing problem, but has not put any rigorous endeavors into addressing the issue. He was very impressed with the initiative Utah was taking and the cooperative effort to diminish the phragmites’ effects, and wanted to contribute.

“The two states see things really different,” Cottle said. “I love the way Utah does the phragmites up at Bear Lake. It’s neat to see three to four agencies working together to protect it.”

The Idaho Department of Agriculture gave Idaho departments working on their own phragmites treatment $53,000 to go towards chemicals and equipment to knock down the weeds, but as Cottle said, not much has been done on the Idaho side of Bear Lake.

Cottle and his wife then committed Bear Lake Watch to joining in the Utah effort because “phragmites can spread,” he said. “They get in the water in Utah and go up to Idaho and will start spreading. The more we can eradicate any place on the lake, the better off the lake is.”

His ultimate goal is to continue the process throughout the year, rather than waiting to check on the phragmites annually. He said he would like to see a designated work day with equipment and manpower from Idaho and Utah to assist in the effort.“We’d have a small army and that’s what we need.”