Work to reduce the invasive Phragmites will continue in Owen Sound.
Staff from the Invasive Phragmites Control Centre will be working at Kelso Beach with amphibious equipment to address phragmites that were inaccessible to city staff.
Next Tuesday and Wednesday, workers will be cutting the reeds below the water line eliminating the plant’s ability to photosynthesize. Once cut, city staff will remove it from the site.
They anticipate an 80 per cent to 100 per cent reduction in density within the trial area. The 2019 trial area is the north shore of the Pottawatomi River from the Eddie Sargent Parkway Bridge to the Mouth of the Pottawatomi River at Kelso Beach Park.
Pending the success of the 2019 trial, the program will be reviewed for implementation at other phragmites sites on or adjacent to city lands including the banks of the Pottawatomi River in future seasons.