Phragmites is a emersed perennial plant that can reach 10 - 12 feet in height and shade out shorter native vegetation. It can grow along the shorelines of water bodies or in water several feet deep. In South Carolina, it is restricted to the outer coastal plain where it occurs in fresh, brackish and salt marshes and along streams, rivers and estuaries.  This plant is a native of the US and is normally not problematic.  However, there is an introduced European genotype of the plant which is highly invasive.  Recent research has shown that both native and introduced species of Phragmites currently exist in North America.  For further information about how to distinguish between the two genotypes follow this link; http://www.invasiveplants.net/phragmites/. 

    Identification: Leaves grow alternately and are two-ranked, flat, long-attenuate up to 1 1/2 feet long and 1/2 inch wide. They are blue-green in color with rough margins. The leafy stem is topped by a 1 foot long silvery brown silky panicle of flowers (shown in inset). It is capable of reproduction by seeds, but spreads primarily by underground stems called rhizomes. Growth patterns are very dense and can "crowd" out native plants which causes major ecological problems.
 

     Phragmites infestations have impacted shallow water habitat in the Winyah Bay/Santee Delta area for over three decades. The S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has battled Phragmites in its waterfowl impoundments for most of that time with limited success, but the release of a new and more effective herbicide has encouraged the agency to increase control efforts.

2007 marked an important phase of phragmites control in the Santee Coastal WMA: local managers should now have gained the upper hand with an additional 714 acres spayed on Santee Coastal.  Additional control should only be maintenance work with aerial work several years apart.  Yawkey continues treatment with several problem areas which remains persistent throughout treatment.  Those areas may have to be dried out before completely effective control is attained.

2008 showed a measurable reduction in phragmites and significantly reduced treatment efforts. Based on input from agency managers and regional and county planners the focus in 2008 remained on phragmites control in coastal South Carolina. To improve the general operations efficacy, phragmites work was coordinated with the Wildlife and Freshwater Fisheries Division, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and several county entities to include several SCDNR wildlife management areas and National Wildlife Refuges including Donnelley/Bear Island WMA, ACE Basin Refuge, Santee Coastal Reserve, Yawkey Wildlife Center, Santee Delta WMA, and Samworth WMA and locally impacted sites. The main purpose of which was to provide increased habitat opportunities for waterfowl and reclaim other important areas. 748 acres were treated at a cost of $110,039. That represents a 64% decrease in acreage from 2005’s high of 2083 acres and a decrease of 10% from the planned acreage for 2008(827 acres). Funding has been secured for additional phragmites work in the Intracoastal Waterway from Georgetown to Charleston and also in Charleston Harbor (250 acres). The phragmites invasion of coastal South Carolina has been slowed and additional work needs to be continued in future years.

For more information on previous years (2005-2006)

Specific treatment sites and maps are listed in the interactive table below. 

**Maps require either Adobe  Acrobat Reader or Google Earth installed depending on selection.

2008 Phragmites Control Operations
Location	PDF Maps			Acres	Costs
Santee Coastal				400	$60,400
Santee Delta				70	$9,396
Baruch				70	$9,396
Charleston Harbor NWS	NO MAP			115	$16,386
Samworth				10	$1,348
ACE Basin				10	$1,510
Caw Caw Natural Area				7	$767
Cape Island				15	$2,565
Georgetown Parks				51	$8,271
TOTAL				748	$110,039
Private landowners	NO MAP			No Final Info	No Final Info

2007 Phragmites Control Operations
Location	PDF Maps		Open in Google Earth	Acres	Costs
Santee Coastal				714	$120,230
Tom Yawkey				120	$20,866
Baruch				100	$17,388
Charleston Harbor NWS	NO MAP		NO MAP	156	$31,472
Charleston Harbor USACE				282	$57,720
Intracoastal waterway USACE (Georgetown to Charleston)			North South	295	$59,996
Samworth				9	$1,565
ACE Basin				36	$7,362
Caw Caw Natural Area				17	$3,477
Others	NO MAP		NO MAP	9	$1,175
TOTAL				1,738	$321,251
Private landowners	NO MAP			No Final Info	No Final Info

Winyah Bay Invasive Species
Phragmites Cost Share Information!

Phragmites fact sheet
(8.5 x 11 high resolution)