Fighting phragmites: One of Canada's worst invasive species now in N.B.

Crews from different conservation groups put on their safety vests, rubber boots, and gloves and headed into the marsh along the Petitcodiac River in Riverview Thursday. 

They were on a mission to find and remove phragmites, one of Canada's most notorious invasive species also known as the European common reed. 

Phragmites, a perennial reed grass that originated in Eurasia and thrives in northern climates and wetlands, is an invasive species now growing in New Brunswick.

Paula Noel, New Brunswick program director with the Nature Conservancy of Canada, said the tall grass plant grows so densely that "it creates a monoculture that kind of shades out or out-competes all of the other types of plants you would normally find in a wetland."

Noel said the plant has done significant damage in parts of Ontario and Quebec where it spread for many years and "has created huge impacts to wildlife habitat there."

Like a lot of plants, phragmites produce a chemical through their roots, inhibiting other plants from growing.

"It kind of changes the soil to favour itself and nothing else," Noel said.

If phragmites are left to spread, wetlands are at risk of losing a variety of plants and different areas for birds and other wildlife to nest and feed.

Noel said parts of southern Ontario have lost "a lot" of habitat for species at risk of extinction because of the spread of this invasive grass. 

Ducks and other waterfowl have been crowded out by this plant in southern Ontario.  So, too, have been turtles, which are a species at risk.

Turtles spend part of their life in the water and part on land, explained Noel.

"They need to come on land to lay their eggs and reproduce," she said.

But in parts of Ontario, turtles are no longer able to physically move across the marsh because this grass is growing so densely. 

Noel said conservation groups still don't know the impact this plant is having on wildlife in New Brunswick because "it's fairly new."