Pharewell Phragmite

It's finally happening! Marion Lake is being cut and cleared as you read this. The entire west side has been cut and the east side is looking great. Almost all of Rabbit Lane has been cleared as of Wednesday evening and the bridge area and parts of Lakeview Terrace hope to be completed by Friday. They will be back in the spring for a trim and wicking. We're making great progress and continue to need your help if you can please contribute! See additional photos of the project in the Project Photo Gallery.

Project Photo Gallery

Images from 11/2

The Big Dig

The great news is the work on the lake is to begin this coming Monday, November 10, 2008! Finally! The work that the town did on the bridge area last weekend was terrific. They weren't able to reach too far into the lake with the machinery they were using but they were able to make some progress and now we have water flowing under the bridge again.

Now for the bad news. We still are short money. We need to pay the next installment upon completion of this first phase which should be within the next 10 days. We're asking for anyone who hasn't contributed or anyone who can contribute a bit more to do so now. We need money to get us to the next phase. Please see How You Can Help for information on how you can contribute.

The Plan for Eradication

State Aid for Eradication
The New york State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has strict rules about how to manage what are called "wetlands". The border of Marion Lake is protected by these rules and we can't do much to change the momentum of the invasion without proper permits and approvals.

Guidelines for Eradication
The DEC has specific methods in place to protect wildlife which includes using licensed contrators to cut and "wick" the stems. Dredging, burning, and spraying are all not permitted. What is stipulated by the DEC is the use of an environmentally safe chemical which requires a tremendous amount of manual labor, as this is something that is carefully applied to each cut stalk.

The Process
What has been proposed and approved, is a plan to cut the stalks and apply the chemical. Most likely this will have to be done twice. We will then monitor test areas to guage the progress and then will replant native plants to keep the Phragmite from returning. This includes various Hibiscus and other wetland friendly plant that limit further growth.

Lake Photo Gallery