Washington’s Effort to Eradicate Spartina Starts In June
The Washington State Department of Agriculture announced that the treatment season for Spartina will start June 1st and run through November. The WSDA’s Hector Castro, said Spartina is a very aggressive invasive weed that spreads quickly, particularly in areas on the coast and near water.
"The reason we're trying to eradicate it, is that when it just grows as it wants to, it can completely outcompete the native vegetation. It really chokes the mud flats and estuaries, so it makes it really difficult for anything else there to grow and thrive."
Eradication efforts will be conducted in several locations such as Grays Harbor, the mouth of the Columbia River and Willapa Bay. Castro added the Department's first step is surveying.
"Eradication involves actually ripping the plants out, it can be very physical and demanding work.”
This year, project partners will survey more than 60,000 acres of saltwater estuaries and 500 miles of shoreline in 12 counties. WSDA and its partners dig out small infestations by hand and treat larger sites with herbicides. Since 1995, WSDA has served as the lead state agency for Spartina eradication.
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