Staff from DEC and Suffolk County Parks recently teamed up on two aquatic invasive plant removal projects in Calverton on Long Island.
Fox Pond
Staff pulled by hand a young stand of phragmites (common reed) from Fox Pond, a small bog-type pond located in Calverton Ponds Preserve. Banded sunfish and swamp darter, two species listed as threatened in New York, are found here in the core of their range. Left unmanaged, phragmites will out-compete the native vegetation, eliminating preferred shoreline habitat for these species.
Swan Pond
Many invasive species are tough to completely eradicate, and water chestnut (pictured to the right) is no exception. For more than a decade there have been several attempts to remove it from Swan Pond, including this summer when staff removed another patch. They’ll continue to monitor the population and consider removing the plants earlier in the season next year before they mature.
DEC asks anglers and boaters to take action to help stop the spread of aquatic invasive species.
