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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 14, 1997
97-131
Contacts:
Cindy Moore, Dept. of Agriculture, Statewide Spartina Control Coordinator (360)
902-1853
Rocky Beach, Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, Lands Program Manager, (360) 902-2840
Ron Teissere, Dept. of Natural Resources, Aquatic Resources Assistant Manager
(360) 902-1091
Paul Heimowitz, Dept. of Ecology, Coastal Protection Fund (360) 407-6972
Curt Hart, Dept. of Ecology, Public Information Officer (360) 407-6973
The three species of the cord grass Spartina targeted for removal are native to Great Britain and southeastern coast of the United States. Spartina was originally introduced into Washington in the 1890s but did not spread until the 1970s. It is classified as a noxious weed by the Washington State Noxious Weed Control Board. These aggressive plants spread quickly once established. Spartina colonies trap mud and silt, permanently converting mudflats and other intertidal habitats into higher elevation salt marshes. As the grass takes over, it displaces native estuarine plants and animals, especially shellfish.
Federal, state, local, non-profit and community groups, and private interests have been actively waging an on-the-ground attack to remove Spartina from Willapa Bay in Pacific County for the past three years. The exotic grass has already infested nearly a third of the 45,000 acres of tideflats in the Willapa estuary, threatening the bay's vital shellfish industry. State and federal biologists are also concerned that the Spartina infestation may disrupt coastal migratory bird patterns through the permanent loss of mudflat feeding habitat.
Department of Agriculture crews will begin removal operations for 25 known Spartina infestations in Clallam, Grays Harbor, Jefferson, King, Kitsap and San Juan counties. "Because Spartina has not become established south of Snohomish County or in the San Juan Islands, we hope to remove all known colonies on public and private property by November," said Cindy Moore, statewide Spartina control coordinator for the state Department of Agriculture.
In addition to these Puget Sound colonies, more than 2,800 acres of infested intertidal marsh land has been identified in Skagit, Island and Snohomish counties. In mid-July, Department of Fish and Wildlife crews, in conjunction with Agriculture staff and local and tribal personnel, will begin a two-year project to eliminate this larger Spartina problem. Crews will work to remove Spartina in some of Washington's most sensitive intertidal habitats including Penn Cove, Port Susan and the Padilla Bay Natural Estuarian Research Reserve.
"The agencies are truly coming together and working cooperatively on this serious issue," said Fayette Krause, Washington Lands Steward for the Nature Conservancy. "I believe that this ecological problem can be addressed successfully because we are on top of it right now. And clearly, now is the time to act."
Removal crews in Puget Sound will use a combination of control and eradication methods including mowing, hand pulling, digging and chemical treatment.
The entire Puget Sound eradication effort will cost approximately $911,000. More than $500,000 for this project comes from the Washington Coastal Protection Fund. The Coastal Protection Fund, managed by Ecology, is comprised of money earned from penalties and natural resource damage assessments from oil spills. A committee of state natural resource agencies determines which restoration projects should be funded by damage assessment payments. The remaining funding will come from Agriculture, Fish and Wildlife, Natural Resources and Parks.
"This project is exactly the type of environmental protection effort for which the state Coastal Protection Fund was created," said Ecology Central Programs Manager Greg Sorlie. "We will be using money generated from penalties and damage assessments from oil spills to restore and protect intertidal habitat that was harmed by these spills."
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
