Freakin' Phragmites!

Loreen Niewenhuis is an author, adventurer, and Great Lakes speaker. She has completed a trilogy of 1,000-mile adventures exploring the Great Lakes and has written three books about the Great Lakes [A 1,000-Mile Walk on the Beach *a Heartland Indie Bestseller*, A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Walk *winner of the Great Lakes Great Reads Award*, and A 1,000-Mile Great Lakes Island Adventure]. To learn more about her work, or to book her as a speaker, go to http://LakeTrek.com

I was discouraged to see so much of the invasive grass -- phragmites -- along the shores I've walked so far.  

It was along the Great Lakes, along inland canals and ditches, along smaller lakes and large rivers.  

Invasive species have changed and warped and altered the ecosystem of our Great Lakes.  I spoke to one woman who remembered that the shores near the town of Sebewaing were free of  phragmites a decade ago.  Today the waterways are choked with this invasive grass.  

There had a to be a window of time when the species was first introduced and could have been easily controlled and then eradicated.  That window of opportunity has passed and now eradication will take a concerted effort over many years.