Newspaper Articles

[Teegate]

All,

My daughter has informed me that there were articles in the Philadelphia Inquirer the last two days on the pines. I did not get the paper so does anyone have any insight into what they were about?

Here is the first paragraph from the Inquirer website.

Source: Wendy Ginsberg INQUIRER SUBURBAN STAFF
The loud croaks of bullfrogs and pickerel frogs would normally cause an environmentalist to smile.But not this time.A 10-year study of the state's ecologically important Mullica River Basin shows that development in the area has affected the soil and water. The result: the intrusion of plant and animal species that are not native to the unique ecosystem of the 1.1 million-acre Pinelands reserve."This is like they have a 500-pound gorilla and they're not talking about


Guy

 

[rblanda]

If anyone gets this article, I would love to have it posted on the site. Scan it or type it and send it to me at the address below.


Robert Blanda
Owner
Pine Barrens Enthusiasts
info@eblanda.com
www.eblanda.com

 

[JeffD]

It would be nice to have the article posted on this site, so I could finish reading the article. I really need to read more to make any comment, but, from the first paragraph, the tone seems to be a bit alarmist. I learned about an exotic species which threatens the integrity of the Pine Barrens ecology (according to Dr. Patrick Moore, exotic species are not inherently bad). There is a phamplet about it, which I got from a forest office, nature/vistor center or somewhere. I also read about it on, I think it was, the Batona Trail Club site. It's pronounced Frag-Mite-EZ, I think. I believe the Batona Trail Club plans to cut some of it back.

Again, I'd have to read the article to better comment on what it is saying.

 

[BarryC]

Phragmites, AKA Reeds: I've heard conflicting reports that they are native, but may not be. I've noticed they are taking over the marshlands along the Lower Bank Road that goes from the Egg Harbor Road to the Lower Bank bridge. Years ago they weren't there, that I can remember. I don't like them because they are so agressive. And besides, how are you going to kill them or get rid of them? They grow in water or saturated ground.
My boss has been having a lot of them cut down on one of the golf courses at work. That course was built in the marshes. They always grow back. I wish they weren't there. But I admit that they can be pretty if you don't have too many of them.

 

[JeffD]

I looked but couldn't find the phamplet on phragmites I thought I had. This is where the Internet comes in handy. Maybe I'll do an engine search. I also see something that is too agressive as a problem. When something multiples too fast overall then it throws the ecological balance off and has a destructive effect, like Gypsy Moths. Unlike Gypsy Moths, where their numbers can be checked by killing larva by spraying the trees they defoliate, I don't know of any way to seriously deal with phragmites other than to cut them. Maybe there is. A big problem here in Pennsylvania is the Multiflora Rose, which was planted by the game commission but got out of control. It chokes other plantlife, not to mention makes it very hard to walk in the woods. One PA forester told me that clearcutting and spraying may be a way to deal with it.

But back to the Pine Barrens. If these reeds (phragmites) grow too agressively, they may slow the flow of water even more in marshes, putting ecological succession on fast forward.

Oops. I'm getting into nature and ecology. And there is a forum dedicated to that. Well, maybe we could transplant this discussion over there.

It would be nice to find out what exotic threat the article was about (hint, hint).

Wetland plants in general improve water quality, but if a body of water is slowed down too much, it may stagnate and become a breeding ground for mosquitos, which if not checked by predators such as bats and bluebirds, can get out of control and cause problems to humans. Remember the West Nile Virus?

This fall I visited a park and nature center near the Ocean and a bay, north of Atlantic City on the edge of the Pine Barrens which had marshes. There was one section known as mosquito something or other. The naturalist there graciously took a few minutes before he was about to do a program for a group to explain how mosquitos are kept in check there. Channels so fish could get through were created so the fish could eat the mosquitos.

Meanwhile, phragmites continue to grow. I'll have to learn more about them.

 

[Teegate]

That article can be purchased on the Philadelphia Inquirer website for $2.50. There are many articles that I would like to read on the web that you have to pay for, and I did not want to become addicted to doing that or I would have purchased it. I was hoping someone had read the article or had a copy.

Guy

 

[JeffD]

$2.50 just to read ONE article is ridiculous. And I thought the price of gas was getting ridiculous.

Anyway, I found the Inquirer online site (actually the site was for more than one online paper) in my search for information of phragmites. Guess what? On that search I found the Pine Barrens Enthusiast blurb about helping remove these reeds from Lebanon State Forest! Now I remember reading it there. Maybe it was also on the Batona Trail Club site. It was an old blurp. I think from last year. Phragmites very likely may have been the topic of the mysterious newspaper article. In my search I found mostly an indictment of the reed; it was on some environmental groups' "Most Wanted - Dead" list. I posted a disenting opinion from the NJ Audubon Society on IS PHRAGMITES FOR THE BIRDS? on the Nature and Ecology forum.

 

[BarryC]

One time I wanted to read an older (a few months old) article from the Press of Atlantic City and found the same thing: you have to pay to read them. But current articles were apparently available free.
I think I remember reading that about cutting down Phragmites in Lebanon State Forest on the old Pine Barrens Enthusiasts site too. That was a while back. I think there's another species I've heard of that is invasive, that they want to get rid of. I forget what it's called. Maybe Duckweed or something. I've heard it's choking waterways in some places. I just can't remember exactly what it was.