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Contact: Tawnya Schoewe
Contact: Reid Plumb
INTERNATIONAL FALLS, MN: Voyageurs National Park staff will begin working with contractors to remove areas of invasive, hybrid cattail in selected shallow wetlands of Rainy Lake within Voyageurs National Park from July to October 2020.Initial work will begin by treating selected wetlands in Reuter Creek and other adjacent portions of Black Bay. Once completed, efforts will shift to wetlands in Dove Bay and Cranberry Bay. Removal operations will only occur during daylight hours. Noise will be generated by the specialized grinding barges. Park visitors are reminded to not attempt to use boats or watercraft in recently treated wetlands to avoid getting stuck or damage motors as these areas are naturally shallow, mucky, and will contain remnant cattail debris. Follow-up removals will be repeated this summer as necessary to remove any debris.
Activities include “grinding” up mats of floating cattails with specialized grinding barges and then removing the debris using a harvesting barge where it is deposited on shore to decay naturally. Some areas of treated wetlands will also be re-seeded with native aquatic vegetation such as wild rice and bulrushes. No cattail removal activities are planned this year for Kabetogama, Namakan, Sand Point, or Crane Lakes within the park boundaries.
Hybrid cattails have invaded approximately 500-acres of wetlands in Voyageurs National Park, displacing native communities of plants such as wild rice, sedges, rushes, and native cattail. This long-term project will improve habitat for wildlife, provide enhanced opportunities for fishing, and help restore wetlands to more diverse, natural states. More information on the project can be found at:https://www.nps.gov/voya/learn/nature/cattails.htm.
This project is funded primarily by grants received from the Outdoor Heritage Fund as part of the Clean Water, Land, and Legacy Amendment. Additional funding for management or ecological monitoring has been contributed by U.S. National Park Service, Voyageurs National Park Association (VNPA), Clean Air Act Settlement Fund, and by a grant from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative-Citizen Commission on Minnesota Resources (LCCMR).
Last updated: July 7, 2020