Counter-Attack

A New Weapon Arrives to Defeat the Foreign Phragmite Infestation

By Renée Donlon

They are strong and aggressive. They kill without mercy, destroying innocent plants and animals in their wake. And now they are taking over your own backyard. It’s the invasion of the phragmites, and no one can stop them…… until now. Phragmites beware; the Hydro-Rake is here.

Yes, phragmites, the plant most likely to translate into a bad science-fiction movie villain, may have met its match at Hook Pond where a project is planned for a fight to the finish. Larry Cantwell, the East Hampton Village Administrator, Bruce Horwith of the Nature Conservancy, and Glenn Sullivan of Allied Biological Company, who presented the project and received approval from the Town Trustees, have a secret weapon.

The Hydro-Rake is the menacing-looking device that will hopefully kill off the rapidly spreading phragmites in Hook Pond, destroying them by ripping them right out of the pond bottom. Why such an intimidating machine just for weeding? Because phragmites are not your average weeds. These wetland plants, imported years ago from eastern Europe and also referred to as the “common reed,” can stand sixteen to twenty feet high, grow in dense stands, and can choke off all competing plant life by strangling them with thick, powerful roots. This makes them incredibly difficult to kill off.

That doesn’t mean that people haven’t been trying. “These issues have been around for ten to fifteen years,” said Cantwell. In that time, various removal techniques have been suggested, sampled, and either failed, damaged the environment while succeeding, or simply were used a few times and then run off with their tails between their legs.

The State of New York gave a grant to East Hampton in 1998 to “combat” the phragmites. In 2000, people tried pulling the phragmites up by their roots using traditional methods. A plan to use herbicides was considered, but a year later the Town Trustees banned application of the chemicals. Vacuuming and high-pressure hose blasting were then tried but failed.

Larry Penny, director of the East Hampton Department of Natural Resources, actually found success in Montauk through the use of controlled flooding of the Ditch Plains area. A weir in the pond rerouted excess water to Lake Montauk by underground culvert. This change in environment led to a reestablishment of native plants that could absorb more water than the phragmites. The outcome was less flooding and fewer phragmites. But other areas do not lend themselves to a re-routing of a pond.

Many organizations have fought and lost battles with the phragmites. The Georgica Pond Association has tried to stop them for years. The Lion’s Head Beach Association has gotten nowhere. Rumblings in Hog Creek suggest its residents may soon join the battle against the fast spreading phragmites.

Keep in mind there are many different kinds of phragmites. The local version minded its own business, growing in ponds and tidal wetlands for 3,000 years without bothering its neighboring fish and plants. But then the eastern European type of phragmite showed up here around 1890. It spread slowly at first, but more rapidly in the past few years like a science fiction monster. In wiping out other native wetland plants, they changed the ecosystem, causing wildlife to suffer. Worse, their dominance filled up ponds so badly that views of the water itself have nearly disappeared.

“I don’t know if there has been a concentrated effort,” said Cantwell in regard to any previous attempt to remove the phragmites from Hook Pond. He believes that the infestation in that pond has been largely “ignored.” That possibility does not seem too unbelievable, considering what a daunting task it is to remove the phragmites. The problem is, quite literally, more deeply rooted. The weeds reproduce through underground rhizomes. Not only does this provide for a density of up to 200 stems per square meter, it also means that the extensive roots keep the plant itself stubbornly in place and the species quickly moving. Burning or mowing the phragmites is ineffective because it will not harm the roots, and, depending on season, can even stimulate growth or increase density.

But now there is the Hydro-Rake, the Superman enemy of phragmites. The rake seizes the roots of the plant and whatever water and sediment are brought up with the root drains back into the wetlands. The rake does not harm fish or other pond wildlife, a fact that got Town Trustee Diane McNally to urge the board to approve a one-year permit for the hydro-rake project. Cantwell expects a permit from the DEC sometime in September and hopes to have the project under way in October. The conclusive struggle is about to begin.