Grey County Council, Resolution PCD44-16 Was Endorsed As Follows

G . 2-1C0l11§¥\/ Office of the Warden 595 9”‘Avenue East, Owen Sound Ontario N4K3E3 519-376-2205 / 1-800-567-GREY/ Fax: 519-376-8998 March 14,2016

Honourable Justin Trudeau, Pr'meI Minister of Canada M - Office of the Prime Minister un,c‘% soWellington Street "‘ Ottawa, ON i,’g,3f3”°a’°rdMARl 6 mm K1A OA2

Honourable Kathleen Wynne, Premier of Ontario L.

Legislative Building — Room 281 Queens Park Toronto, ON M7A 1A1

Dear Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier Kathleen Wynne:

At the March 15',2015 session of Grey County Council, resolution PCD44-16 was endorsed as follows:

PCD44-16 Moved by: Councillor Eccles Seconded by: Councillor Ardiel WHEREAS Phragmites (European Common Reed) is an invasive perennial grass that grows and spreads easily in water and wetlands;

AND WHEREAS the Ontario government has recently enacted the Invasive Species Act which recognizes the importance of controlling the spread of invasive species and removing and eradicating invasive species from Ontario, including Phragmites;

AND WHEREAS the continued growth of Phragmites in wetlands is threatening agricultural, shoreline, and urban land in Grey County as well as other areas in Ontario;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Report PDR-PCD-O8-16 be received;

AND THAT correspondence be provided to the Federal and Provincial governments requesting their support and assurance that the following items will be addressed, as recommended by Conservation Ontario, in order to allow municipalities and other agencies to control

Grey County: Colour it Your Way Page 2 March 14,2016

and eradicate invasive Phragmites: .

1. Expedite and streamline the approval of herbicides to enable control over water; 2. Expedite and streamline approval of aerial treatments; 3. Establish a province-wide invasive Phragmites control program; and, 4. Control invasive Phragmites along Provincial Highways and provincial lands;

AND FURTHER THAT staff he directed to work with local municipalities, local conservation authorities, and other interested organizations to map known locations of invasive Phragmites and to develop a coordinated plan to control and eradicate invasive Phragmites in Grey County using best available management practices.

County Council respectfully requests consideration of this resolution in order to provide the necessary tools for municipalities, conservation authorities and other organizations to be able to control and eradicate invasive Phragmites.

Attached is a copy of Report PDR-PCD-08-16 which identifies the County's concerns with respect to Phragmites and identifies what the County is requesting from the Federal and Provincial governments.

Thank you for your consideration in supporting this issue. Please contact me at

(519)372-0219 ext. 1225 or KimWingrove, CAO — ext. 1292, if you would like to discuss this matter further.

Yours Tr

arden Alan Barfoot (519) 372-0219 ext. 1225 www.grey.ca

Enclosures cc. Honourable Jane Philpott, MP, Minister of Health Canada Honourable James Gordon Carr, Minister of Natural Resources Canada Honourable Lawrence MacAulay, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

Grey County: Colour ItYour Way Page 3 March 14, 2016

Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Canada Mr. Larry Miller, MP for Grey—Bruce Dr. Kellie Leitch, MP for Simcoe-Grey Honourable BillMauro, Minister of Natural Resources Honourable, Glen R. Murray, Minister of Environment and Climate Change Honourable Steven Del Duca, Minister of Transportation Honourable Jeff Leal, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Mr. BillWalker, MPP for Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound Mr. Jim Wilson, MPP for Simcoe-Grey

Local Municipalities — Grey County Grey Sauble Conservation Authority Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority Grand River Conservation Authority

Grey County: Colour ItYour Way Municipalityof Meaford Received MAR1 6 2016 Gre ‘V'3‘ C011“ Committee Report Report PDR-PCD-O8-16

To: Chair McQueen and Members of the Planning and Community Development Committee From: Randy Scherzer, Director of Planning and Development Meeting Date: February 16, 2016

Subject: Phragmites — Impacts and Options to Control/Mitigate Status: Recommendation adopted by Committee as amended per Resolution PCD44—16;Endorsed by County Council March 1, 2016 per Resolution CC34-16;

Recommendation(s)

WHEREAS Phragmites (European Common Reed) is an invasive perennial grass that grows and spreads easily in water and wetlands;

AND WHEREAS the continued growth of Phragmites in wetlands is threatening agricultural, shoreline, and urban land in Grey County as well as other areas in Ontario;

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Report PDR-PCD-O8-16 be received;

1. Expedite and streamline the approval of herbicides to enable control over water; 2. Expedite and streamline approval of aerial treatments; 3. Establish a province-wide Phragmites control program; and, 4. Control Phragmites along Provincial Highways;

PDR-PCD-O8-16 1 February 16, 2016 AND FURTHER THAT staff be directed to work with local municipalities, local conservation authorities, and other interested organizations to map known locations of Phragmites and to develop a coordinated plan to control and eradicate Phragmites in Grey County using best available management practices.

Background

Phragmites, also known as the European Common Reed (Phragmites australis), is an invasive perennial grass that is causing extensive damage to shorelines and wetlands throughout North America, including the southern parts of Ontario. According to a document entitled “lnvasive Phragmites — Best Management Practices” prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, the invasive plant grows and spreads quickly and has an extensive root system that eventually overtakes neighbouring native species by consuming the nutrients and the water in the area where it grows. Phragmites also releases a toxin from its roots into the soil which effects the growth of neighbouring plants and can even killoff native species. The plant prefers disturbed habitats and prefers to grow in standing water. The roots of the plant can grow to extreme lengths and the plant can grow quite tall (up to 5 metres in height).

There is a native species of Phragmites that is similar to the invasive species and therefore it is important to properly identify whether the plant is invasive or not prior to attempting to control or eradicate the plant. The invasive Phragmites plant tends to grow taller than the native species, grows at a higher density, and has some other differences in terms of stem colour and leaf colour. The invasive species also overtakes the native vegetation, whereas the native species does not alter the habitat. If a program were to be developed to control and eradicate Phragmites, it will be important to train front-line staff on how to identify the invasive plant.

Phragmites has also caused impacts to agriculture by plugging agricultural drainage ditches and tiles which results in flooding and impacts to crop yields. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has noted that Phragmites is becoming a real problem for Ontario farmers. As a result, the OFA supports the work of the Ontario Phragmites Working Group (OPWG). The OPWG was established in 2011 and is a non—profitand volunteer based group that has formed to facilitate effective, efficient and environmentally responsible management of invasive Phragmites in Ontario. OPWG is currently focusing on the facilitation of education, information sharing and investigation, as well as pursuing effective management options. OPWG became a committee of the Ontario Invasive Plant Council in October 2013. The recommendations put forward by OPWG to the Ontario government included the following:

PDR—PCD-O8-16 2 February 16, 2016 - emergency use permits for herbicide applications; - Approval of aerial treatment application; - Establish a province-wide control program; and, - Establish an Invasive Species Act for Ontario.

On November 3, 2015, the Ontario Invasive Species Act received Royal Assent. The purpose of the Invasive Species Act is to prevent invasive species from entering Ontario, to control the spread of invasive species, and to remove and eradicate the invasive species from Ontario. This is a good first step in dealing with invasive species and demonstrates that the Ontario government is taking invasive species seriously.

Current State of Phragmites in Grey County County staff sent correspondence to local municipalities and conservation authorities within Grey to see how prevalent the issue of Phragmites is throughout the County and to determine if there have been any efforts deployed to control the weed. The following is a summary of the responses received to date from local municipalities and conservation authorities:

Municipalityl Conservation Known Locations Control Authority Town of The Some areas that contain No control methods have been utilized to Blue Phragmites but not a lot. date. Always interested in partnerships. Mountains Have not mapped to date. Noted that it doesn’t appear to be a huge Peasemarsh Beach and issue locally. Craigleith shoreline are known locations. Municipality of Phragmites is located in Council requested to explore the Meaford the Municipality, asking possibility of a partnership between the whether the CA could member municipalities and the provide details on where conservation authority to develop an Phragmites can be found. action plan for the removal of Phragmites. Grey Have mapped some Conducted some spraying in 2015. Highlands known locations of Phragmites. Owen Sound Phragmites is definitely The City of Owen Sound contracted present in the City of Lands and Forests Consulting in 2011 to Owen Sound on private, have an area of Kelso Beach City, County and Federal (approximately 5 acres) along the government lands. To Pottawatomi shore and a section of the date the City has not former beach burned and then treated mapped the locations with herbicide. The controlled burn was

PDR—PCD-08-16 February 16, 2016 Municipalityl Conservation Known Locations Control Authority within the City where effective in reducing the large biomass Phragmites australis is that had accumulated at this site, growing. The largest area however two applications of the herbicide within the City impacted glyphosate were ineffective in controlling by Phragmites is at Kelso the regeneration of this weed. Staff of the Beach Park and up the Parks and Open Space division were able Pottawatomi River from to reduce the growth of the Phragmites at the harbour mouth to Kelso Beach and an adjacent drainage several kilometers inland. swale parallel to the Eddy Sargent Parkway by repeated mowing. Unfortunately the welcome rise in the lake levels in 2015, prevented the continued mowing of the Phragmites along the shore line at Kelso Beach and the Phragmites has grown back.

City staff attended a session in Toronto in 2014 hosted by the Ontario Government and provided input on a white paper developed on the control of invasive species including Phragmites and Wild Chervil. The consensus of those in attendance at the workshop was that a coordinated approach was required by all levels of government with regards to the control of invasive species in Ontario. City staff believes there would be interest in participating in a coordinated effort between the County and others to try to control/eradicate this weed. Grey Sauble Located throughout the GSCA assisted the City of Owen Sound Conservation watershed along Georgian with the Kelso Beach control program. Authority Bay shoreline and within Very interested in partnering to help (GSCA) interior lakes and ditches. develop and participate in a coordinated No formal inventory at this program to deal with Phragmites. time. Saugeen Located throughout the Partnered with Enbridge to Valley watershed from Saugeen control/eradicate Phragmites in the Conservation River headwaters to Lake Brucedale Conservation Area Lake Huron Authority Huron. Located in shoreline through the Lake Huron Centre countless wetlands and for Coastal Conservation. A video was road side ditches in Grey created for this project (Linkto Video). Dr. County. Exists along river Janice Gilbert has been involved with the

PDR-PCD—08—16 February 16, 2016 Municipalityl Conservation Known Locations Control Authority shoreline. Exists in project, Dr. Gilbert is a Phragmites numerous locations in expert. Bruce Power is looking at former Townships of Phragmites in a wetland just north of Bentinck and Normanby Bruce Power. Tried to cut Phragmites in and along Grey Road 9 to standing water because there is no Dundalk. chemical available in Canada for in-water applications. Cut plants are collected and piled on the land and later burned. The cutting was an attempt to drown the plant, some did rebound but it will be seen this year as to how successful this method is to control the plant. Some municipalities have had success in rolling of Phragmites (knock down the biomass and let it dry out) followed by spraying of new growth and followed by a second spraying with a back-pack spray or

wicking on the chemical — can be upwards of a 3 year program. SVCA sent a letter to member municipalities works departments in Spring 2015 including a brochure for controlling invasive species on roadside ditches. Subject to staff availability, SVCA continues to be willing to support local municipalities in dealing with the Phragmites issue. Nottawasaga NVCAhas been tracking NVCA has completed a significant Valley the ongoing spread of amount of manual cutting and removal in Conservation Phragmites within certain Collingwood area. Project involved a Authority parts of the watershed, number of community groups including currently focusing efforts Georgian Bay Forever, Blue Mountain in and around the Watershed Trust, the Town of Minesing Wetlands and Collingwood and local residents. It was along Georgian Bay determined that manual removal was the shoreline in Collingwood. optimal strategy since much of the area is These areas have been wet and unsuitable for other control the focus because of methods. Within Minesing wetlands, partnership opportunities, NVCAhas partnered with Nature feasibility of success and Conservancy of Canada (NCC) and potential negative impact focused on lands owned by NVCA. They ifspread continued. have used a variety of techniques and Inventories have been have been relatively successful. Have focused on the two areas hired a consultant to develop and

PDR—PCD-08-16 February 16, 2016 Municipalityl Conservation Known Locations Control Authority identified above. implement a prescribed burn plan for a small patch. First part of plan required a chemical application which would have been followed by a prescribed burn. However NVCAfound that the chemical application had a significantly high mortality rate on the plant and therefore it was not necessary to go through with the prescribed burn in the second year. NVCA did a second spot chemical application and willcontinue to monitor it. NVCA has manually removed plants in wet patches. Suggested that there may be internal opportunities amongst municipalities to reduce the spread (e.g. roadside mowing may be spreading the infestation of Phragmites further afield). NVCAwould be interested in a coordinated effort to expand NVCA’s efforts to control Phragmites, subject to staff capacity. Grand River Mapping some known Conservation locations of Phragmites, Authority primarily on GRCA lands.

Based on the responses provided to date, Phragmites is definitely present in a number of locations throughout Grey County. in order to have a better understanding of the extent of Phragmites, it is important to begin mapping known locations which will help aid in the development of a coordinated action plan. Through the research conducted, staff came across a mapping application called EDDMapS (Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System). EDDMapS is a web-based mapping system that allows organizations to record observations of invasive species. The goal of EDDMapS is to have a better understanding of invasive species distribution around the world. EDDMapS has created a smartphone app that allows people in the field to record invasive species observations. The app uses the GPS technology built into the smartphones to capture the location of the invasive species. The person in the field is also required to capture photos of the species observation and allows the user to enter specific data about each observation. There is a specific EDDMapS app for Ontario - eddmags which is supported by the Ontario government. Organizations can also download the raw data from the EDDMapS website by geographic area. There are

PDR-PCD—08—16 6 February 16, 2016 records of Phragmites that have already been recorded in Grey County using EDDMapS (See Map 1 below).

PDR—PCD—08—16 7 February 16, 2016 Map 7 — Known Locations of Phragmites in Grey County

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EDDMapS appears to be an excellent tool to map the locations of Phragmites. It is recommended that further discussions be held between local municipalities and

PDR-PCD-08-16 8 February 16, 2016 conservation authorities to discuss whether or not there can be a coordinated effort to map known locations of Phragmites using EDDMapS or some other consistent solution. It is further recommended that staff enter into discussions with local municipalities and conservation authorities to develop a coordinated plan to control and eradicate the spread of Phragmites in Grey County using best available management practices. There are some other organizations that may be interested in partnering or may be good resources going fon/vard, including Georgian Bay Forever, the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and the Ontario Phragmites Working Group.

Best Management Practices — Options to Control and Erac/icate Phragmites There are options to help controland eradicate Phragmites and a number of these methods have been deployed by some of the local municipalities and conservation authorities. The Ministry Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) recommends that an integrated pest management (IPM)plan be developed which comprises twoor more control methods and should be created based on site-specific circumstances. MNRF also recommends that the IPM also include follow-up monitoring and re-assessment to ensure the plant does not return. MNRF suggests that the most effective management plan for most situations includes a combination of chemical applications, cutting/rolling, and prescribed burning.

MNRF indicates that there are certain human practices that help Phragmites spread even further. The following are some methods for preventing the spread of Phragmites:

0 Do not purposely plant it — Invasive Phragmites is available to be purchased at garden and horticultural centres. By choosing to not plant invasive Phragmites, the risk of spread is limited. The Ontario government should also prohibit the sale of this invasive species.

o Avoid transportation via equipment — The Ontario government's best management practices document recommends to brush off clothing and clean off equipment on site to avoid the transfer of seeds to new sites.

- Do not compost invasive Phragmites — seeds and the rhizomes of the plant can survive in a compost heap creating a new stand or allowing it to dispersed to other areas. It is recommended that plants be dried or burned or disposed of in the garbage or at a landfill.

One of the issues with controlling and eradicating Phragmites is that there is currently no herbicide available in Canada that can be utilized in or over water. This limits the control options and some of the other methods may not be feasible of effective in or over water. Currently there are two chemical products approved in Canada, known as Weathermax® and Vision®. Both chemicals contain a surfactant which is harmful to

PDFt—PCD-O8-16 9 February 16, 2016 aquatic life and therefore cannot be used in or over water. There is a chemical that has been approved in the United States that does not contain surfactants and has proven to be a very effective, safe and efficient chemical for controlling Phragmites.

Organizations have also identified a need to do aerial herbicide applications to control Phragmites in areas where the plant colony is large, and in areas where it is difficult to access the plant colony. This control method is not currently available in Canada.

Conservation Ontario is an organization that represents 36 conservation authorities in Ontario. Conservation Ontario recently wrote a letter to Premier Wynne. regarding Phragmites and noted in the letter that due to the significant negative impact of this plant, not taking action is not an option. The letter notes that because Phragmites has become so pervasive throughout southern Ontario that a large scale, coordinated effort is required to achieve meaningful results. The letter requests that the Province support and assure that all Provincial agencies will be supporting and working with MNRF on the following initiatives:

Expedite and streamline approval of herbicides to enable control over water Expedite and streamline approval of aerial treatments Establish a province—wide Phragmites control program Control Phragmites along Provincial Highways

Similar recommendations as identified by Conservation Ontario have also been recommended by other organizations, including the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and the Ontario Phragmites Working Group.

It is recommended that the County support the recommendations made by Conservation Ontario and it is recommended that the Warden send a letter to the Federal and Provincial Governments requesting their support and assurance that the recommendations made by Conservation Ontario will be addressed in order to allow municipalities and other agencies to control and eradicate Phragmites.

Flnancial/Stafflng/Legal/Information Technology Considerations At this stage there are no financial or staffing considerations related to this report. If there is agreement between local municipalities and conservation authorities to begin mapping known locations or Phragmites and to develop a coordinated plan, there may be financial resources required including funds to train staff to identify Phragmites and to record observations, funds to implement control methods, etc.. Staffing resources may also be required to develop and implement a coordinated plan to control and eradicate Phragmites. Following further discussions with local municipalities, conservation authorities, and other organizations regarding whether there is interest in

PDR—PCD-08-16 10 February 16, 2016

.4>.°’!\’.-‘ developing a coordinated control plan, a report would be brought back to Council outlining a potential action plan and any costs associated with implementing the plan.

Linkto Strategic Goals/Priorities Action Item 3.5 of the Corporate Strategic Plan identifies the importance of protecting and conserving natural resources, including those that offer scenic value and habitat preservation. Action Item 4.2 promotes effective coordination and communication between and amongst the County of Grey and its nine |ower—tier municipalities. Developing a coordinated action plan with local municipalities and conservation authorities to control and eradicate Phragmites will help to achieve the above noted action items.

Respectfully submitted by,

Randy Scherzer Director of Planning and Development

PDR-PCD-08-16 11 February 16, 2016