Everyone who showed up for a demonstration near Deer Lake Beach last week seemed prepared to fight.
Across Michigan’and much of the eastern U.S.’many say the stubborn invaders are spreading like wildfire and threatening to choke the life from area lakes and wetlands.
But in the Clarkston area, several groups are taking a stand against Phragmites.
‘We are going to fight,? said Independence Township resident Elizabeth Wagner, who joined the Clarkston Watershed Group and made her own fight public when the plants began cropping up all over her lakefront property. ‘We’re committed. It’s occurring in every neighborhood and it’s really affecting our wetlands.?
Last week, CWG, in partnership with the North Oakland Headwaters Land Conservancy and the Clinton River Watershed Council, brought in Bob Williams, a Phragmites expert from Harsen’s Island in Lake St. Clair.
Williams demonstrated proper safety, mixing and application techniques for herbicides, as well as answered questions from many of the several dozen residents who attended.
‘People could actually imagine themselves making a difference,? said Katie Anderson, executive director of NOHLC. ‘So many think of this as an impossible task, but it would make a big difference if we could just get property owners to control the spread on their own land.?
Anderson said she was pleased with Williams? realistic attitude, and recognition that people approach the problem with different objectives.
‘People thought it was a great presentation, easy to understand and not as scary and complicated as everyone thought it might be,? said Cory Johnston, CWG co-chair. ‘People were interested, and understand it’s a problem that’s getting out of hand.?
The group is planning another spraying near the end of September to begin treating the Phragmites population in the Depot Park wetlands across from Deer Lake Beach.
‘We’re looking for volunteers who will spray, people who aren’t afraid of the chemicals,? said Wagner, noting the group has an abundance of safety information available.
For more information, call 248-620-6489 or email CWG@VillageofClarkston.org