Spartina Control Gets a Boost from Federal Budget
ILWACO, WA — December 21, 2007 — The Nature Conservancy and the Friends of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge praised Congress for including $990,000 for spartina eradication in the federal spending bill that Congress passed on Wednesday, December 19.
“Spartina eradication is an important effort that has involved the federal government, state agencies, local oyster growers, as well as landowners around Willapa Bay, and it’s been very successful,” said Kelly Rupp, a member of the board of trustees for the Friends of the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge. “Both the environmental and economic interests of people who depend upon the Bay are united in this effort.”
Spartina alterniflora is a fast-growing and fast-spreading smooth cordgrass that threatens to take over the inter-tidal mudflats and natural salt marshes of Willapa Bay that provide habitat for thousands of shorebirds, waterfowl, and other estuarine-dependent animals.
During spring and fall migrations, more than 100,000 shorebirds feed at Willapa, defining the bay as one of the top ten coastal habitats for shorebirds between Alaska and Mexico.
At the height of the infestation, spartina had spread its dense meadows and advancing clones over about 35,000 acres of the 85,000 acre bay. Gathered together, the meadows and clones added up to 9,000 solid acres. Last spring, that was reduced to about 2,300 acres, and researchers expect to find just about half of that when the remaining plants emerge this spring, said Tom Kollasch, Willapa Program Director for the Conservancy.
This will be the sixth and final year of federal funding for the eradication project. The Conservancy, which has been working on behalf of eradication for years, said the support of Sen. Patty Murray and U.S. Rep. Norm Dicks has proven critical in securing much-needed funds to fight spartina. U.S. Rep. Brian Baird has also played a very important role in this effort.
“Senator Murray and Representatives Dicks and Baird of Washington’s congressional delegation have demonstrated genuine advocacy in ensuring this invasive species will be fully eradicated,” said David Weekes, director of the Conservancy in Washington.
“The support of Rep. Dicks, Sen. Murray, and Rep. Baird has just been phenomenal,” said Charlie Stenvall, project leader for the Willapa National Wildlife Refuge complex. “They’ve understood from day one how important this project is for migratory birds and for the ecological health of this bay. They understand what it means for this community and this state to have a healthy bay, and they’ve been steadfast in their support.”
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
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