New Hampshire battles invasive plant species

Six months ago, Dave Kellem was wading through a colony of tall wetland reeds called phragmites. He reached down and cracked open one of the long stems and found that it was a perfect tube, ideally suited to form the body of a pen. On that fateful day, Kellem decided to start a business manufacturing and selling pens made from the stems of the invasive plants. He calls them Phragwrites. “The name is what sold me into starting the company. So, Phragwrites, it’s hard to go wrong with that,” Kellem said.

Ten percent of the company’s profits are donated to a project that fights invasive species like phragmites. If the project is successful and phragmites are eradicated, Kellem’s business will fail due to lack of raw materials. Failure, therefore, is Kellem’s ultimate goal. If Phragwrites succeed, they will eliminate phragmites, proving once again that the pen is mightier than the horde.

During a recent eBay search, Kellem looked for anything with the word phragmites in it—market research for his company. But what he came across sent tremors through several New Hampshire agencies that fight invasive species. He found several listings that advertised invasive species for sale. Kellem immediately forwarded his discovery to Douglas Cygan, invasive species coordinator for the N.H. Department of Agriculture and chair of the N.H. Invasive Species Committee. Cygan contacted the sellers, alerted them to New Hampshire laws regarding invasives and demanded they amend their advertisement so that New Hampshire would be on a list of places where the seeds could not be purchased. The seller complied, but the episode illustrates one of the various ways in which invasive species can enter the state. Originally purchased for their decorative qualities, many invasive species are brought to the state intentionally, while others find their way to New Hampshire by accident on cars or boats. 

Most invasives come from other countries and are shipped here for their aesthetic qualities and ability to withstand the cold New England climate. Their rapid proliferation chokes out native species and disrupts the natural habitat, to which native birds and fish have adapted. Once invasives take over, “that habitat is completely gone,” said Beth Lambert, coastal restoration coordinator for the N.H. Department of Environmental Services. She added that some birds can live in phragmites, but other birds, like the Salt Marsh Sparrow, can only live in native salt marsh grasses. “For more sensitive species that can only live in a certain habitat, the invasives are an incredible threat to their existence,” Lambert said.

According to Lambert, phragmites are the most common invasive species on the Seacoast. Other common species include purple lustrife, buckthorn and honeysuckle. Phragmites are easily recognizable by their tall stocks and brushy heads. This green invader is found at the edge of salt marshes and wetlands throughout the Seacoast. Other species, like honeysuckle, are known as upland invasives that appear on dryer land.

Mechanical cutting is the control method of choice for the DES. It cuts, hacks and pulls out invasives at different times of the year, depending on when the efforts will be most effective. “Because invasives are so widespread, we try to focus our efforts on areas that are ecologically special for one reason or another,” Lambert said.

Although the DES doesn’t use chemicals to combat invasive plants, experts are constantly researching the best ways of removing invasives, and the use of chemicals is under consideration. “We don’t want to rush in before we understand the methods and their ramifications,” Lambert said.

The difficulty of controlling invasive species forces the DES to employ drastic methods. “The plants are extremely aggressive and they spread by multiple methods. Even cutting has its challenges. Besides being “hot and dirty,” cutting invasives can actually help them in the long run, Lambert explained, because chopped root fragments allow some plants to spread more easily. “Once you remove them, then you’ve created another disturbed environment,” Lambert said. After removing the invasive plants, it’s necessary to plant native species and monitor them to make sure the invasives don’t return. “You can’t just come in and then leave. It needs treatment and control for years,” Lambert said.

Efforts to combat invasive species are managed by the DES and the N.H. Department of Agriculture. Together with the Invasive Species Committee, they’ve come up with a list of aquatic and upland invasive plants that are illegal to sell, grow or propagate without a permit. The two agencies share enforcement duties, but there is also a proactive, restoration-based aspect of the job.

The N.H. Coastal Watershed Invasive Plant Partnership is a grassroots alliance formed by federal, state, non-profit and volunteer organizations that connect available funding with different opportunities and actions. They work with landowners, towns and conservation groups to actively patrol invasives. Funding for the projects comes from a variety of sources, including the Natural Resource Conservation Service, the N.H. Estuaries Project, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership and local communities. One success story can be seen at the Awcomin Salt Marsh in Rye, where invasives have been subdued.

To see where invasives thrive, Odiorne Point State Park offers a great view. Near the boat launch, you can see buckthorn, bittersweet and honeysuckle, Lambert said. Education is one of the best tools for fighting invasive species at Odiorne. In August, the Seacoast Science Center will hold a weeklong summer camp to teach children about these persistent plants. The “This Doesn’t Belong Here!” day camp invites students from grades six to eight to learn about the invasive species that plague Odiorne Point State Park, including bittersweet, honeysuckle, black swallowwort and Japanese barberry.

Invasive species were first brought to Odiorne after World War II as a way to beautify the park, said Henry Burke, the Seacoast Science Center’s youth program coordinator.

“They have spread because people have found them to be ornamental or aesthetically pleasing,” he said.

The proliferation of invasive species is an issue that has gained international attention. From July 24 to July 31, a team of 20 researchers from around the world will be in Massachusetts and New Hampshire to identify and catalog hundreds of marine plants and animals, with the goal of identifying invasive species before they threaten local ecosystems. They will use laboratories at the University of New Hampshire, with support from the New Hampshire Estuaries Project. The week of monitoring is part of the Northeast Rapid Assessment Survey, which attempts to take a snapshot of the marine species present in certain areas. Researchers from Holland, Brazil, Canada and the United States will contribute their unique expertise to the collaborative effort.

One of the “bio-invaders” the team will search for is the Chinese mitten crab. Originally from Asia, the crab lives in both fresh and saltwater and competes with native species for food and space. In 2005, fishermen in Chesapeake Bay reported catching Chinese mitten crab in their blue crab traps. Two years later, the invasive crabs had reached Delaware Bay. Just last month, a male crab was found in the Hudson River. “Chinese mitten crab is going to be huge. I don’t know when, but it will be,” Kellem said.

There is a growing momentum among people who believe that movement and change are a natural part of every ecosystem, and that all ecosystems are accustomed to receiving new members. According to this theory, invasive species represent another chapter in the natural evolution of the plant world. However, those at the forefront of the fight against invasives have a different opinion. For Burke, removing invasive species is about regaining balance at Odiorne Point. “These ecological relationships took thousands of years to evolve, and over the course of decades these (invasive) species have taken over. We want to get it as close to the pristine native situation as possible,” he said.

“New Hampshire’s natural habitats have inherent value to them, and we can lose those completely through invasive species,” Lambert added.