SCIENTIFIC INQUIRY - PARTICIPATE IN AIS REMOVAL TECHNIQUE TESTING
Invasive Cattail Monitoring & Removal
Help the Cattail Collective understand the most effective means of managing this invasive species. Learn more below.
Native broad-leaf cattail (Typha latifolia) is an important wetland plant across the Long Lake Creek Watershed. But invasive narrow-leaf cattail (Typha angustifolia) and its aggressive hybrid (Typha × glauca) are increasingly crowding out native vegetation, reducing plant diversity, degrading wildlife habitat, and choking off the open water and marsh edges that make our wetlands work.
Why it Matters
Dense monocultures of invasive cattail alter how water moves through wetlands, trap sediment in ways that change nutrient cycling, and reduce nesting habitat for marsh birds. In a watershed like ours — where wetlands act as the filters and sponges for everything flowing into Long Lake — a healthier cattail community means cleaner water downstream.
Wetlands are the kidneys of the watershed. What grows there shapes what reaches the lake.
— LLWA Board
Working with the MN Cattail Collective
MAISRC is bringing research to real-world application by partnering with state, tribal, and local groups on lakes across Minnesota to test the effectiveness of its research-based invasive cattail removal protocol.
The project aims to restore nearshore lake zones by opening dense cattail stands, encouraging native plant regrowth, reconnecting inshore and open-water habitats, and supporting healthy fish communities and lake food webs.
Key objectives:
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Establish demonstration sites: Distribute invasive cattail removal plots across 20 to 25 Minnesota lakes in partnership with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, local managers, lake associations and local communities.
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Implement participatory science: Develop protocols for managers and communities to collect data, helping us assess the impact of small-scale invasive cattail removal as a nearshore restoration strategy.
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Map cattail invasion: Use a combination of genetic testing and established cattail identification methods to determine the degree of invasion throughout Minnesota, information that is currently unknown.
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Educate communities: Use demonstration plots along with workshops and field visits to engage communities in the importance of healthy, nearshore, native plant communities for fish community and lake health.
Where things stand
Want to learn more, or participate in the science? Contact the Cattail Collective project manager for more information:
Project Manager:
Claire Rude, Research Fellow, Minnesota Sea Grant, University of Minnesota
Contact:
Interested
If you have expertise in wetland ecology, cattail management, or you'd simply like to help scout sites around the watershed or remove some of your own invasive cattail, reach out and get involved. This is exactly the kind of project that helps us understand the most effective means of managing invasive species.
Potential partners: MN Cattail Collective, MCWD, and the cities of Long Lake, Orono, and Medina.