PHRAGMITES AND TOMORROW NITE'S CPAC ARE UNRELATED

Now that's simply a downright silly title above but every once in a while.... . Anyhow yes tomorrow night at 6 pm. CPAC will be held in the Woolwich Council Chambers on Church St. and everyone is welcome. As a little shot to Chemtura and their friends in the community, CPAC is the only legitimate vehicle for PUBLIC discussion and debate towards resolving the groundwater and drinking water issues in Elmira. Despite tremendous past faults with CPAC, even then while operating in business hours and thus sucessfully eliminating the bulk of citizens from attending, nevertheless it was open to the public to both hear and speak. This is contrary to Chemtura's current attempts to avoid public scrutiny with by invitation only, technical meetings on their site and under their control.

Phragmites is but one more invasive species causing environmental harm in Ontario. Recall purple loosestrife and its' prevalence throughout the Grand River watershed. Phragmites are huge plants often seven feet tall or more and they are flourishing in Ontario and in Woolwich and Elmira. They have been in the news including local papers as well as the Jan/Feb 2013 edition of the Ontario Angler and Hunter.

There is a website titled www.greatlakesphragmites.net and its' purpose is to be a hub for information as to how to control the spread of phragmites. My understanding is it is harmful to our native wetland fauna by crowding them out and apparently it also reduces habitat for small animals due to being incredibly thick and dense at its' base. It is a light brown in colour and can be recognized by towering over whatever neighbours it still has.