Marsh Restoration Activities to Take Place

Residents should see restoration activities take place on Long Lake Marsh in the next week as part of a federally funded grant project underway.

The Ogden Dunes Volunteer Fire Department (ODVFD), a partner in the project, will burn the cattails and Phragmites in the marsh this fall, depending on weather conditions and personnel availability.

Also dependent on weather conditions, work will begin soon on a vegetated filter strip to be planted around the marsh late next spring. In preparation for that project, a delineated area of turf grass will be herbicided. Signs will be posted as soon as the herbiciding is underway. Residents are urged to keep away from the grass for at least two days after the spraying is completed.

The purpose of burning the cattails and Phragmites, which are taking over the marsh and driving out native species, is to remove the dead matter and discourage re-growth next spring. A more diverse habitat is better suited for wildlife, such as birds, turtles and fish. These invasive plants are also inhibiting recreation, such as fishing, canoeing and kayaking, on the wetland.

A burn was also conducted last April. That burn's purpose was to make the cattails grow lower and thicker this past summer, allowing for more surface area for application of the aquatic plant herbicide completed in August by Aquatic Weed Technologies.

Also as a result of the April burn, the ODVFD was able to provide the value of its equipment and personnel time to the grant project as in-kind match totaling $6,438.28. This is a significant development in the grant project because that value has helped the Town achieve its one-to-one match of $15,700 on this $31,400 grant funded by the Coastal Zone Management Act by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources Lake Michigan Coastal Program.

The purpose of the vegetated filter strip is to purify water as it runs off Diana Road and Diana Court into the marsh. Certain native plants, such as grasses, sedges and shrubs, can help filter water and prevent sedimentation in the marsh. Native Connections, a restoration and native seed company out of Three Rivers, MI, has been selected to develop and implement the vegetated filter strip, which is also known as a "stormwater best management practice."