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The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) announced today it will award a grant of $40,000 to Blakely Historic State Park in Baldwin County, Alabama to assist in the control of Cogon grass over the park lands. The Park will match this award with approximately $18,000 in local funds, contributed services and volunteer hours. This award was made as a result of Blakely Historic State Park’s successful response to a Request for Proposals for habitat restoration projects issued by the MBNEP in March. The Blakely project will result in control of almost 40 acres of Cogon grass in fragmented patches in both upland and near wetland environments in the 2075-acre park. Loss and fragmentation of wildlife habitat can be due to many causes such as population growth and associated development or conversion to agricultural use but it is also lost and altered by invasive, non-native plant species such as Cogon Grass. This plant presents a rapidly increasing threat to natural habitat within the park including critical watershed areas immediately adjacent to the Tensaw River. It also imperils a small remaining population of one of the most rare wildflowers and orchids native to Alabama, the Crested Plume Orchid, also known as Eulophia (Pteroglossaspis ecristata). This orchid was previously thought to have been extirpated in Alabama but discovered in Blakeley in 2001. David Yeager, Director of the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program noted, “Habitat loss in Mobile and Baldwin Counties is a priority concern of the MBNEP. In an ecosystem everything is related, loss of habitat diversity obviously affects our living resources and ultimately can affect our water quality.” Cogon grass is now recognized as one of our most destructive invasive plants. Native to Southeast Asia and the Philippines, this noxious weed was first introduced into the United States at Mobile, Alabama in shipping crates containing it as packing material. It was also brought in by the USDA to help control erosion and is even today sold in the nursery trade as an ornamental although it is officially regulated by federal and Alabama noxious weed acts. This project will contribute to restoring biodiversity and the functional health of critical watershed areas in the park. Cogon grass makes it nearly impossible for other species to successfully compete with it and does not buffer the rapid flow of water on slopes as effectively as many native plants. It also alters the fire ecology of our pinelands and promotes elimination of small shrubs and trees. This in turn increases runoff and erosion. “We are making a long-term commitment at Blakeley to control Cogon grass within our boundaries. Blakeley Park is honored to have been selected by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program for this award and we look forward to working with them in carrying out this environmentally-sensitive project,” said Jo Ann Flirt, Interim Director of the Park. For More Information Contact Lee Yokel or David Yeager at 251-431-6409 |
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