Phragmites, invasive species, becoming all too common across Ontario

An invasive species that is slowly moving across northern Ontario is beginning to show up in the northwest.

Phragmites, also known as European common reeds, are invasive plants that are often found along roads, especially in wetlands.

The co-chair of the Ontario Phragmites Working Group told CBC News a volunteer in Thunder Bay will start to document where the species is found using GPS co-ordinates.

"In northwestern Ontario it's still ... sporadic, just in patches here and there," Janice Gilbert said.

"She's going to start working on this up in your area ... that's good news for you."

Gilbert said the plant's seeds easily spread along roadways, helping to move the species around Ontario.

"It sounds weird for me to be saying this as a wetland ecologist, but we need herbicides that we can put into wet areas to deal with phragmites," she continued.

"And, the reason for that is we don't have any other means of dealing with this plant, when it gets to some large extent. And, I'm talking of hundreds of acres of massive stands of phragmites."

The group is calling on the province for help to deal with the issue. Stands of phragmites can now be found across southern Ontario, Gilbert noted.

Gilbert said there is a suggestion to start to eradicate phragmites in the Parry Sound area and then work south to try and keep the plant population under control.