<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Fellow
Conservationists-</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">I
work for The Nature Conservancy (TNC) in Door County, WI.<span style>  </span>My main project this summer has been mapping
exotic and native stands of Phragmites (<i style>Phragmites
australis</i> and <i style>Phragmites australis
americanus</i>) throughout TNC properties in Door County.<span style>  </span>I have some questions and experiences to share
with you as our organization tries to learn more about the native/exotic
Phragmites issue.<span style>  </span></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">We
all know what havoc the exotic Phragmites subspecies can wreak on an ecosystem,
but do we know anything about the native subspecies?<span style>   </span><b style>Is
there any research out there showing that the native Phragmites can behave as
aggressively as the exotic?<span style>  </span></b>In Door
County, the native usually grows in scattered to moderate densities along with
other wetland plants, with a few patches showing denser concentrations.<span style>  </span>There are a few areas where the native has
reached undesirable “dense” concentrations, but as of yet we don’t know why.</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">What other plants are associated with
the native Phragmites?</span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style>  </span>TNC will be
setting up monitoring plots soon on some of our native patches, and when we get
that data I’ll send it to any interested people from this list.<span style>  </span>The only list I’ve been able to find is from
a chapter by Laura Meyerson et al. in “Invasions in North American Salt
Marshes” entitled “Phragmites australis in Eastern North America: A Historical
and Ecological Perspective”.<span style>  </span>Does anyone
know of other lists from different regions of the U.S.?</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Are there any patterns to where native
Phragmites is found?<span style>  </span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">During my
mapping of the plant in Door County, I’ve generally found native Phragmites set
back from the edge of waterways and growing in more marshy areas.</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><b style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">What have you all seen as far as size of
patches, number of patches, location, rate of spread, etc. of the native
Phragmites in your area?<span style>  </span></span></b><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Most of the
wetlands in Door County are fed by alkaline ground water discharge as a result
of movement through the underlying dolomitic bedrock.<span style>  </span>I assume that because of these alkaline
conditions we have a higher population of native Phragmites than perhaps other
regions of the Midwest.<span style>  </span>Is this true?<span style>  </span></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">To
help answer these questions, The Nature Conservancy’s Door Peninsula office has
temporarily halted eradication measures of native lineages of <i style>Phragmites</i>.<span style>  </span>We are in the process of developing long-term
monitoring plots in native <i style>Phragmites </i>stands
throughout Nature Conservancy holdings in Door County, WI.<span style>  </span>The goals of this monitoring project will be
to assess the following questions:</span></p>

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><i style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style>1.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Under what conditions do native stands become
aggressive?</span></p>

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><i style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style>2.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">At what threshold is a native stand damaging to the
community? </span></p>

<p class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><i style><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span style>3.<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">     
</span></span></span></i><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">What plants are commonly associated with native <i style>Phragmites </i>in the Great Lakes region?</span></p>


<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">If
you are interested, I can send you a more detailed methodology for our
monitoring project, including what parameters we will be sampling.<span style>  </span></span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">As
an additional note, I’d encourage people to mention there is a native variety
of Phragmites and differentiate between the two strains in any publications or
documents.</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">I
look forward to your input!</span></p>

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<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Thanks
again,</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:normal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Times New Roman","serif"">Katy
Cummings</span></p>

<p class="MsoNormal"><a href="mailto:katy.e.cummings@gmail.com">katy.e.cummings@gmail.com</a></p>

<br clear="all"><br>-- <br>Katherine E. Cummings<br>Door Peninsula Conservation Intern<br>The Nature Conservancy<br>Sturgeon Bay, WI<br><br>