Get Rid of Spartina

Spartina is a plant species that is native to the East Coast. However, recently, spartina has come to the West Coast. Over many years, spartina has developed quickly on the coast. Spartina is a very good plant on the East Coast. It maintains wetlands, and it keeps the soil sturdy. Spartina doesn’t overgrow because animals eat it. Not too much and not too less is just perfect for the East Coast. When spartina moved to the West Coast, it came as an invasive species. This means that no animals eat them, making them develop quickly. Spartina probably came from the East Coast from oysters and duck-fishing bait.

 When too much of a thing is present, things go bad. Once spartina had overcrowded the coast, native species had no space to grow, causing lots of animals to leave. Spartina also destroyed the mud flats along the beaches, which had helped destroy the roots of the native plants. This event occurred in Puget Sound, a coastal village in Washington State. When the Lincoln Elementary School students in Mount Vernon, Washington heard about this, they were ready to help.

Spartina has come from the East Coast to the West Coast because of two major reasons. Back in the 1800s, people from the East Coast attempted to grow oysters in the West Coast. In order to preserve the oysters along the route from East to West, they used spartina. Once they arrived, the spartina was thrown away at the beach, and the seeds sprouted later. Another reason was that the people who hunted for ducks planted spartina in order to attract them. Spartina was bad here because it didn’t originate here, meaning that spartina has no predators over here. On the other hand, on the East Coast, spartina originated there, so it has predators that can limit its quantity.

To solve the problem, the students had to first understand what animals were affected by spartina and the concepts and geography of Padilla Bay. They also had to make the problem with spartina known to lots of people. Finally, the students considered contacting the government, since this project required lots of money to pay the company for removing the weeds. Removing spartina wasn’t easy. It has grown all along the West Coast. It took years to grow that much, so it would take years for the company to remove them. The citizens also had to make sure to prevent new invasive species from coming in and hurting the ecosystem again. It would be much more challenging to remove another species again.

In conclusion, spartina, and invasive species on the West Coast, have hurt the ecosystem of the area. It originated on the East Coast, but people have brought it to the West Coast for many reasons. With no predators, spartina is growing rapidly on the West Coast, destroying habitats. To stop this, the students at Lincoln Elementary School in Mount Vernon, Washington, have tried their best to convince the government to invest money in the project to remove the weeds. However, removing the weeds would be challenging and expensive.