Before and after pictures showing the restored views of Oyster Pond from the bike path.
Long time OPET members will remember former OPET President Birgit Rose's warning in the Winter 2000 newsletter that Phragmites was moving into Oyster Pond and smothering the natural vegetation around the pond. Since then many more native cattails, bay berry bushes and other marsh plants that provide important wildlife habitat have vanished underneath the relentless march of Phragmites.
In September OPET started the enormous task of trying to eradicate, or more realistically control, this exotic invasive. A dozen volunteers worked all morning to clear 100 feet of the southern shoreline along the bike path. Another group tackled a smaller patch of Phragmites from the small wetland at the northern end of the pond near Treetops.
Cutting and treating Phragmites is a very labor intensive task. The only sure control method is to cut each cane and place a few drops of Rodeo herbicide into each hollow stem. (Rodeo is a wetland safe equivalent of Roundup). OPET had to hire a licensed pesticide applicator to apply the herbicide as is required by law.
This first effort cost OPET over $400, which included a courtesy discount of $300 by Jeff Hamilton, the pesticide applicator. A large portion of these costs were for disposal; the cut debris filled a very large pickup truck. OPET is contacting the Town of Falmouth to see if the Town can help by providing a location to burn or bury the Phragmites debris. If you look at the large amount of Phragmites remaining along the pond you can see that OPET is facing a large expense in the future.
Unfortunately, Mario also identified a number of exotic invasive plant species, (luckily NOT Phragmites), that should be removed. Fortunately, most are in manageable numbers. The most problematic is bush honeysuckle (Lonicera morrowii) which is growing thickly under a magnificent linden tree near Mosquito Creek. OPET is scheduling a work day this spring to clear the area of honeysuckle. This would be an ideal spot for a bench to sit and enjoy the quiet beauty of Zinn Park.
