Brandon Twp.- The township will be joining with other local communities in an effort to control phragmites, an invasive weed that decreases property values and presents a fire hazard.
During their Nov. 10 meeting, the township board voted 5-1 to participate with surrounding townships in the submittal of an application for funding from the Midwest Invasive Species Grant Program. Trustee Jayson Rumball voted no. Trustee Ron Lapp was absent.
‘Everyone puts in their own amount of money they want and the grant will be divvied up by how much you put in,? said Clerk Candee Allen, who was joined by Supervisor Kathy Thurman, Treasurer Terri Darnall, and Trustees Dana DePalma and Bill DeWitt in voting yes. ‘There is a fire hazard with phragmites? great big weeds that get rid of cattails and take over everything. They are not native and they decrease property values… They are everywhere in our township and if we don’t go in (with the other townships) they will spread back down. We need a joint effort.?
According to phragmites.org, ‘Phragmites is the common reed plant which has taken over much or our shoreline, many of our canals and a major portion of the island’s wetland areas. It out competes the native plants and creates a monoculture of reeds. It reduces the biodiversity of plants and therefore the biodiversity of animal life. It limits views, limits access to the lake, rivers and canals for recreational purposes, it reduces property values and is a fire hazard to many buildings.?
The board approved the allocation of up to $5,000 to be used as matching funds to rid the township of the plant. Other participating communities are Orion, Independence, Oakland, Springfield, Waterford, Oxford, Groveland and Addison. The grant requires a 10 percent match and will provide chemicals for eradication of the weed which has roots up to 10 feet deep and which grows densely in wetlands. Allen noted in the township, they are a problem in Huff Lake, and Thurman said phragmites are also growing in or near road right-of-ways.
The townships expect to hear if they are approved for the grant in February. Chemicals would be spread sometime next summer.