Biologist examining native wildrice, an 

 important food for migratory waterfowl. 



^'^Controlling pest plants in marshes 



One of the best ways to improve food conditions 

 for waterfowl is to replace undesirable plants with 

 desirable species of liigrh food value, but that is not 

 always easy to do in marshes. Patuxent biologists 

 are conducting field studies on pest-plant control 

 in experimental plots in various States from New 

 York to South Carolina. Alligatorweed, cat- 

 tails, needlerush, waterche.stnut, watermilfoil, and 

 phragmites are a few of the species for which 



control measures are being developed. Burning, 

 fluctuating water levels, mechanical control, and 

 herl)icides are common approaches in destroying 

 unwanted marsh and water plants. Special em- 

 phasis is placed on testing new herbicides devel- 

 oped by the chemical industry. Several of these 

 are proving to be important tools in management 

 of Federal and State waterfowl areas and of 

 private and commercial marshes. 



Watcrctiestnut, an introduced Eurasian plant, blankets water surface where 

 it occurs and sfiades out growths of desirable waterfowl-food plants. 



