Phragmites impacting Great Lakes ecosystem; learn how to control it | Manitowoc outdoors

Landowners are invited to attend a series of free public workshops to learn more about why phragmites is a problem and how private landowners are benefiting from participating in an exciting regional program working to control these invasive plants.

Invasive phragmites is a perennial wetland grass introduced from Europe that grows rapidly, forming dense stands that crowd out native vegetation, in turn reducing plant species diversity and wildlife habitat quality. This menacing plant is also a safety and fire hazard and clogs drainage ways rapidly.

The workshop presenters will discuss the project overview, planning efforts, landowner expectations, project timeline, communication plan and ways landowners can benefit from and help with the control efforts.

To develop a truly collaborative and effective control strategy, the project needs assistance from landowners. Lakeshore Natural Resource Partnership (LNRP) has been an active stakeholder in controlling some of the most problematic invasive species to help improve and protect the lakes and landscape of the Lakeshore. As part of an ongoing, collaborative effort to control invasive species, LNRP has been awarded grant funding from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to conduct mapping and treatment of the highly invasive common reed grass in the townships of Manitowoc County and near-shore townships of Sheboygan County.

With grant funding, LNRP has been working to control populations of invasive phragmites since 2015. Properties selected for participation in this project have had their invasive phragmites populations treated with follow-up treatments occurring as necessary in subsequent years, as funding allows.

Join a workshop to find out if your property qualifies for treatment as a part of this program. Workshops are scheduled as follows:

• June 19, 6-8 p.m., at the Manitowoc County Complex;
• June 20, 6-8 p.m., at the Town of Holland Hall in Sheboygan County;
• June 22, 10 a.m.-noon, in the Wells Fargo Room at LTC in Cleveland (this workshop is specific to those properties along the Lake Michigan shoreline that have bluff communities); 
• June 25, 6-8 p.m., at the Maple Grove Town Hall in Manitowoc County; and
• June 26, 6-8 p.m., at the Maywood Environmental Center in Sheboygan County.

For more information, contact the following: in Manitowoc County, Tom Ward at 920-588-0047 or tomward@tm.net; in Sheboygan County, Kendra Kelling at 920-946-2247 or kendra@lnrp.org; or either county, Melissa Curran at 920-841-1072 or Melissa.Curran@stantec.com. 

More information is also available by contacting local township representatives.

• Northeast Wisconsin Youth Shooting Program, Inc., will hold its next shoot at Manitowoc Gun Club, 3112 Clover Road, just south of Manitowoc, at 5 p.m. June 18.

Children 18 and younger will get a free box of shells and a free round of either trap or skeet.

For first-time shooters this year, a parent or guardian must accompany the child to sign the consent form.

Also, mark your calendars for July 16, when the Manitowoc Gun Club will host another one of these shoots.

• Maribel Sportsmen’s Club will be holding its Father’s Day Ron Stodola Progressive Trap Shoot and Archery Tournament.

The trap shoot will be from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. June 16. The club will put the first $100 into the Lewis purse to get it started.

The archery shoot will be from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. June 15-16. They will have food, refreshments and multiple raffles. A portion of the proceeds will also go to Pink Heals.

Maribel Sportsmen’s Club is next to Interstate 43, exit 164, State 147, Maribel.

• Outdoors Inc. is holding its 50-bird Lewis shoot and meat raffle from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. June 23. They will also be serving their steak sandwich lunches.

For more information, call 920-898-5577.

Outdoor’s Inc. is 2 miles east of New Holstein on County X.

• While somewhat quiet in the past month, the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the party who shot a bald eagle in the Mishicot area has now topped the $5,000 mark with pledges from Leede Research and an anonymous sponsor.

This adds to the work of numerous sporting organizations in the area that are committed to solving this crime.

The eagle was shot in December 2018 and the DNR is part of the investigation into the death of this federally protected bird. The reward program started with major donations from Manitowoc County Fish & Game Protective Association with $1,000 in addition to the original $1,000 private pledge by Don Kiel in memory of his late father-in-law, Andy Endries.

“We still hope to find the person responsible for the shooting of this great bird,” said Dean Halverson, secretary of the Manitowoc Unit.

Area organizations have joined in to make a statement that this behavior will not be tolerated in our area. 

Anyone with information about the shooting must call Crime Stoppers at 920-683-4466 to be eligible for the reward.

Founded in 1907, Manitowoc County Fish & Game is recognized as a leader in conservation in Wisconsin and served as a model nationally. There are 25 area organizations working together in this group. They work to protect the rights of sporting men and women and promote conservation and related education. They have partnered on most of the public accesses on area inland lakes and have 450 acres of property across the county for public use. Information: mantyfg.org or Trapper Dan at trapperdanc@yahoo.com.

• The Wisconsin Invasive Species Council announced the 15th annual Invader Crusader Award on June 5 in Madison, honoring Woodland Dunes in Two Rivers for its significant contribution to prevent, control or eradicate invasive species that harm Wisconsin’s lands, waters and wetlands.

Jennifer Klein, land management coordinator for Woodland Dunes, said: “I am very proud of the accomplishments of the Woodland Dunes Barberryans. This outstanding group of adult volunteers exemplifies what it means to be a citizen and take care of our community. They take ownership of caring for the land to a new level, as if it is their own to nurture and protect. They are very deserving of this award and it was an honor to be able to nominate them and watch them shine.”

The Woodland Dunes volunteers, the “Barberryans,” are a dedicated group of volunteers. Woodland Dunes would not be able to maintain its 1,500-acre nature preserve without them. Currently, they are working on an emerald ash borer mitigation project that involves planting 3,000 trees annually for four years. These trees are 4 to 6 feet tall and take copious volunteer hours to manually dig holes, place the trees and protect them from deer browse. In addition to this project, they also assist with community outreach invasive species control projects. 

“This crew has also led hundreds of elementary, middle and high school students as well as college interns and adults by educating them on invasive species management in a variety of habitats,” Klein said.

They've assisted and led groups in planting hundreds of acres of wildflower prairies. Many of these efforts occur inside the preserve, but they’ve expanded their efforts to include places such as the Manitowoc Rahr School Forest. These efforts will protect a variety of common, rare, threatened and endangered species that call Woodland Dunes its home.

That’s it for this week, so have fun in the great outdoors.

Bob Schuh: 920-682-3106 or bobschuh@lsol.net

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