Cataraqui Region Phragmites Management Area
A Phragmites Management Area (PMA) is a geographic area where stakeholders collaborate on Phragmites control and mapping. They are regional or local in scale, drawing from the collective skills, experience, and resources available throughout the area. A PMA is essential for successfully managing Phragmites across jurisdictional boundaries. For more information on PMAs, have a look at the Green Shovels Collaborative Guidebook.
Working Group: news, meetings, events and updates
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The Cataraqui Region Phragmites Management Area (CR-PMA) was
created in 2024 following two regional workshops made possible with funding and support by the Green Shovels Collaborative, Invasive Species Center, and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. These workshops brought together stakeholders (the Working Group) from throughout the Cataraqui region who were concerned about the negative impacts of invasive Phragmites. The meetings confirmed regional support for the creation of the CR-PMA using Cataraqui Conservation’s existing 3400 km2 jurisdiction. Working Group members include numerous lower and upper-tier municipalities, government, non-government, and public organizations, community stewardship groups, and local lake associations, all of whom are committed to Phragmites monitoring and control.
In the fall of 2024, Working Group members and Cataraqui Conservation undertook a regional-scale baseline monitoring project to determine the presence and extent of invasive Phragmites. If you are interested in the results of this project, we encourage you to have a look at our Invasive Phragmites Management Plan or visit our webmap Phragmites Inventory. During the monitoring project, Working Group members collected valuable information on land ownership, hydrologic conditions, and stand
density. This information is currently being used to coordinate a regional control effort that is targeting roadside patches of Invasive Phragmites. Roadsides are a primary vector of spread for Phragmites, so we are hopeful that roadside control will reduce the establishment of new patches in our region.
After this season’s roadside control, the Working Group will meet to discuss outcomes and opportunities for next season. Our long-term goal is to have the roadside control of invasive Phragmites integrated into regular roadside maintenance. As we expand our control efforts, we hope to include more Phragmites stands growing in sensitive habitats such as wetlands and riparian areas. We will continue monitoring to identify any new Phragmites patches and assess the effectiveness of control measures.
If you know of any invasive Phragmites patches in your area, we encourage you to report them using our dedicated Phragmites survey – this will help us include the patch in future control efforts. You can access the desktop version of our survey here by selecting “Open in browser” or download the Survey123 app on your phone (free of charge) to make observations on the go - download our Guide for help accessing the survey on your phone and begin making observations. If you have Phragmites on your property that you would like to remove, consider borrowing a Phragmites Removal Kit from us. If you are a member of a local stewardship group, community organization, environmental non-profit, municipal or indigenous government, and would like to sign up for our Working Group meetings or mailing list, contact info@crca.ca to let us know.