Phragmites management project: Part 1

View of the work area from the
9th/18th tee area
Click on photos to enlarge.

All Habitat Services has been hired to begin controlling the phragmites that have overtaken the inland and tidal wetlands throughout the golf course. Our staff cut most of the invasive weeds surrounding the 7th green at the end of last month, and now we are focusing on the source of the material near the 9th tee.
We are working with the town to secure permits that will allow us to kill the emerging weeds later in the summer, followed by another round of cutting next winter.
I will continue to consult other golf courses that have successfully implemented a long term management plan to see what will be involved in the future. The short term succession of native plants takes a few years to completely recover, but once it does the wetlands are much healthier, act as a natural filter for water moving in and out of the watershed, and provide beneficial habitat for native birds, insects, and mammals that are often excluded by the dense phragmites.