Innisfil residents are being asked to help the town combat the invasion of the European common reed.
Known scientifically as pharagmites australis, the weed can grow up to five-metres tall and it has moved into the municipality growing wild along the roadways and open spaces with one of the most significant patches on Line 6, near the 20th Sideroad.
Large, thick patches of the reed are also dangerous for wildlife, because the invasion threatens natural habitats.
“It’s so thick that if a turtle goes in there, it’s not getting out,” Jason Inwood, manager of operations, said in a presentation to town council.
Residents can download EDDMapS Ontario an app that allows anyone to report sightings of pharagmites and other invasive species using a smart phone and submitting photos for experts to confirm the location.
"Once you know this plant and you start to see it, you will see it everywhere," Innwood said. "With this app, you can report a pharagmites stand on your smart phone at the side of the road or where ever you happen to be."
"A number of staff are reporting sightings when they see them."
Even a bitter, snowy winter won't kill the threat, because the plant is a perennial that will return in the spring and multiply through the next growing season. It takes over land by releasing a toxin into the soil and killing other plants.
“What were once beaches are no longer accessible. Entire beaches have been wiped out,” Inwood said, adding that waterfront communities are at higher risk.
While control is costly and time consuming, Inwood said relaxing herbicide restrictions for severe situations would be helpful.
Inwood said a helpful free app called EDDMapS Ontario can be used to report locations with your smartphone. It can be found at www.eddmaps.org/ontario
Inwood is also asking residents to report sightings of the emerald ash borer, which is destroying ash trees in Ontario including Innisfil and Barrie.
“We had sightings of the pest in Big Bay Point when we were cleaning up trees during the ice storm last year,” Inwood said.
The ash borer is prevalent in most Simcoe County municipalities, spreading from Windsor where it is believed to have arrived in wooden shipment crates from Asia about 14 years ago.
“The ash trees fail quickly. It takes very little to bring a tree down,” Inwood said.
To download the app and for more information visit eddmaps.org/ontario.
