Phragmites Sought in Jacksonport

The Town of Jacksonport is in the process of identifying phragmites within the township. An ordinance was enacted in Nov. 2014, which carries a fine for untreated phragmites.

The town is working with property owners to help identify and contract to spray for the property owners. Phragmites are easily identifiable in late July as their beautiful purple plumes have appeared.

They are also asking for donations to the Town of Jacksonport at least equal to the cost of the treatment to your property. The goal is to treat all phragmites, without fines being imposed, as soon as possible to avoid their spreading and becoming a huge infestation, as occurred on beaches in 2010. Volunteers will walk the shoreline in late July.

The populations of phragmites on the beaches is less than five percent due to the aggressive undertakings the past five years by shore owners, Door County Soil and Water and the Door County Invasive Species Team, and last year by the Shores of Jacksonport Neighborhood Association.

The Clark Lake Association has been vigilant for many years to rid the Clark Lake and surrounding area of this highly invasive plant. This year the Clark Lake area is falling under the Ridges grant as the Ridges owns land along Logan Creek. This grant will include a large area surrounding Clark Lake and should help to eradicate the phragmites that have moved from the lake to the wooded area surrounding Clark Lake.

Jacksonport is asking all the landowners to be diligent about reporting phragmites on their property, as some have been identified in wooded land and ditches. One old quarry has quite an infestation and Hibbard Creek has some inland, in the creek, which are creeping into the woods.

Phragmites will grow to 15 feet and travel to the neighbors by rhizomes if cut. No mowing below the high water mark after the Fourth of July. Phragmites must be treated in the fall to allow the spray to travel to the roots and kill them.

Please call Jacksonport Town Chair Randy Halstead (920.559.0646) or Jo Wahlen (920.823.2032) for information or if you would like someone to check suspected phragmites on your property.

Jacksonport has taken the lead in eradicating phragmites and is encouraging other towns to pass an ordinance and follow up with the appropriate treatment. Door County does not want to end up with the Green Bay situation – they are now cleaning up their phragmites problem with a grant exceeding a million dollars.