Invasive Plant Management at Cape Cod National Seashore

Date: August 28, 2013
Contact: Stephen Smith, 508-487-3262 x0508

Cape Cod National Seashore Superintendent George Price has announced that the Northeast Exotic Plant Management Teams (NE EPMT) will visit the seashore in September to complete an exotic plant control effort at Fort Hill (Eastham).

Additionally, native vegetation may recolonize the site, which improves the ecological quality of the wetland.

The NE EMPT will conduct applications of the herbicide Glyphosate by backpack sprayer to the foliage of Phragmites, which has proven to be successful in past efforts to eradicate this specieswithin the seashore.Glyphophate is considered safe to use in aquatic environments by the EPA and breaks down within the plant to form harmless byproducts such as carbon dioxide and water.Because the wetland is virtually 100% Phragmites, mortality of non-target vegetation will be negligible.In addition, the team will only perform glyphosate applications under optimal weather conditions in order to minimize drift (by wind) or wash-off (by rain).

For information on this project, contact Stephen Smith at Cape Cod National Seashore: 508-487-3262 x0508; [e-mail].