Detroit River - Western Lake Erie CWMA

In 2011, a spectrum of public and private partners established a Cooperative Weed Management Area and a Phragmites Strike Team to coordinate efforts to address the threat of Phragmites and share resources for controlling the invasive plant. The CWMA partners are collaborating to eradicate invasive Phragmites australis in coastal wetlands within the western Lake Erie basin, from the Detroit River to northern Maumee Bay. Initial treatments have involved herbicide application, mowing, and controlled burns. This invasive species project is unique in that the partners have established a mechanism for long-term eradication after initial control through the use of a Marsh Master amphibious vehicle. The Marsh Master vehicle will allow follow-up treatments with mowing, herbicide, and controlled burns. A large-scale, cooperative, and sustained approach to Phragmites treatment in this region will add wetland resources where millions of people live and bring back whole plant and animal communities and functioning wetlands once again.

The Detroit River - Western Lake Erie CWMA covers Monroe and Wayne Counties in Michigan.

Partners

Alliance of Downriver Watershed
Arboretum Detroit
Bay Creek Hunt Club
City of Detroit
City of Monroe
DTE Energy
Eastern Michigan University
Friends of the Rouge
Huron-Clinton Metropolitan Authority
International Wildlife Refuge Alliance
Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Wildlife Division
Monroe Conservation District
Monroe County Road Commission
National Park Service, River Raisin National Battlefield Park
Sacred Spaces
Saint Therese IHM Senior Living
The Nature Conservancy, Michigan
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Detroit River International Wildlife Refuge
Wayne County
Wyandot of Anderdon Nation