Monday 20 June 2016, 7:00pm, Legion Hall, 75 Hollis St, Groton
On Monday 20 June, a special meeting of the Groton Invasive Species Committee will be held that will start with a presentation on phragmites by outside expert Tim Simmons. The public is specifically invited. This event will start at 6:30pm with networking time and light refreshments. The feature presentation will start at 7:00pm.
Phragmites is the tall reed you can see in many wetlands around Groton, such as Broadmeadow. It is much taller than the native cattails it is displacing. Its distiguishing feature is the tassle at top, as apposed to the cylindrical top of cattails.
Tim will introduce what phragmites is, talk about its biology and ecology, how it gets around, and what makes it so invasive. He will also describe ways to deal with it, what works and what doesn’t, herbicide use, planning, permitting, and general advice based on his 30 years of experience with this plant.
Tim Simmons is a habitat management specialist with 35 years experience with land trusts, including the MA Chapter of the Nature Conservancy. For the past 20 years he has served in the state Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program. Tim has been at the forefront of Massachusetts research into phragmites control efforts for the last 30 years, and is a nationally recognized expert in this field.
