Methods Background study – completed during summer 2007 Stand Identification Phragmites stands in areas previously noted by LTC personnel as well as by students and faculty at the University of Michigan Biological Station located in northern Michigan’s Cheboygan county, were visited. Recordings were made of the stand locations – site name (if applicable), site description (including habitat type: brackish tidal, freshwater tidal, floating mat, marsh, swamp, fen, spring, bog, pond, lakeshore, upland, along stream/creek, roadside ditch, agricultural field, or other), and site longitude and latitude (using GPS). For example: Site name – Maple Point Site description – NW corner of Maple Bay in the SW corner of Douglas Lake, Cheboygan County, Michigan; lakeshore habitat with periodically flooded growing conditions. Longitude – 84°43’27.9” Latitude – 45°34’37.2” Additionally, measures of stand success were made at each site including: length of stand (the longest straight line through the stand), width of stand (the widest line perpendicular to the length measurement, stand culm density (number of culms / m2 in the densest section of the stand, with ranges as follows: sparse = < 20 culms / m2; medium = 21-40 culms / m2; and dense = > 40 culms / m2), culm height (height of the tallest culm in the 1 m2 quadrat in which the culm density was measured), culm diameter (measured at the litter level on the tallest culm in the quadrat). For example, at Maple Point these values were: Stand size: 10 m long x 5 m wide Culm density: 8 culms / m2 (sparse) Culm height: 1.5 m Culm diameter: 1.8 cm Next, stands were typed as either native or invasive based on careful comparison of their morphological characteristics to those listed on Cornell’s Ecology and Management of Invasive Plants Program website. For example, the stand at Maple Point was typed as native. Finally, a field collection was made from each site for confirmation of typing accuracy through the Cornell University Phragmites Diagnostic Service. This collection was made following the instructions of that service. Stand Mapping A GPS waypoint was recorded at the densest part (the m2 quadrat location) of each Phragmites stand identified as native using the eTrex® Vista Cx portable GPS receiver manufactured by Garmin. GPS waypoints were recorded at the eight cardinal and ordinal points around the perimeter of each Phragmites stand identified as invasive as well as at the quadrat location. The GPS waypoints were downloaded into the software program GPS Utility, with which shape files were created. The shape files from GPS Utility were then exported into ArcMap 9.1 where they were overlaid onto shape files indicating the locations of the following features in northern lower Michigan’s Cheboygan, Emmet, and Mackinaw Counties: streams, rivers, wetlands, lakes, LTC nature preserves, county boundaries, cities, and major roads. Planned study – completed during summer 2008 and summer 2009 Stand Identification This study evaluated waterbodies, wetlands, and the areas surrounding them, particularly major roadways, in Michigan’s Emmet, Cheboygan, and Charlevoix counties for the presence or absence of Phragmites australis stands and it typed all located stands using the methods and materials described in the background study. Stand Mapping This study further recorded GPS waypoints denoting the presence of either native or invasive Phragmites or the absence of Phragmites altogether in the same areas and produced GIS maps for the LTC from this data. Again, this was done using the methods and resources described in the background study. Proposed study – to be completed during the summer 2011 Stand Identification and Stand Mapping The final phase of this study includes filling in noted gaps in the data sets I collected in previous summers and updating the maps for the LTC. It further includes incorporating into the maps data shared by the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council (ToMWC) following my training of three ToMWC personnel, and their subsequent training of additional personnel, to greatly broaden the geographic scope of the original project. Methods for this final project phase will again be as described in the background study.