Natural Resource Management

Invasive Species

The Invasive Species Management Plan of Grand Bay NERR identifies invasive species known to occur on the reserve and outlines appropriate management activities for the control or eradication of such species. In addition, a goal of Grand Bay NERR's invasive species program is the identification of future threats by invasive species and the implementation of a proactive plan to prevent future biological invasions.

Exotic invasive species are scattered throughout Grand Bay NERR, though, based on current knowledge, severe infestations are limited to the area historically known as the Goat Farm, which is located south of Bayou Heron Road about 1.2 km (0.75 mi) west of Bayou Heron Boat Launch. Cogongrass and Chinese tallow are the primary invasive species on Grand Bay NERR, both in terms of area infested and the destructive impacts on native natural resources and ecological processes.

Acceptable methods for control and management of invasive species include mechanical (mowing, chainsaw), chemical (spraying foliage), and controlled ecological processes (prescribed fire).

Currently, the following invasive species monitoring and management activities are underway:

Implementation of the Grand Bay NERR invasive species management plan.
Chemical treatment of cogongrass and Chinese tallow (popcorn tree).
Operation of a sentinel (early warning) site to detect arrival of the Cactoblastis moth.
GPS inventories of Phragmites, cogongrass, Chinese tallow, and other invasive species.

Chinese tallow tree treated with herbicide using the "frill and spray" method. This method involves the use of a hatchet to cut the bark, then herbicide is sprayed into the cut.

A patch of Phragmites (common reed), an invasive plant, growing in salt marsh.

Prescribed Fire

Fire is a natural, ecological process that shapes the natural communities within Grand Bay NERR. Historically, fires caused by lightening strikes and human activities burned thousands of acres along the northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico each year. The habitat types affected by these fires included upland longleaf pine forests, wet pine savannas, and marshes. Fires were a relatively common event in these habitat types, occurring every 2-5 years. These frequent fires provided a variety of unique and diverse terrestrial and aquatic plant communities that supported many different species of wildlife. and wetland plant communities in various stages of post-fire succession.

In the absence of natural fires, prescribed fire provides a valuable and necessary management tool to maintain and restore the diverse plant and animal communities of the area. The habitat management program at Grand Bay NERR includes a fire management plan. The Grand Bay NERR Fire Management Plan specifies wildfire suppression policies, the use of prescribed fire for attaining natural resource management objectives, and operational procedures for the Grand Bay NERR fire program.

The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has the primary responsibility for fire prevention and suppression (firefighting) and conducting prescribed fire activities on Grand Bay NERR and adjacent lands. Prescribed fire takes the place of natural fire in sustaining ecosystem functions, improving habitat conditions for wildlife, and reducing hazardous accumulations of fuels. The fire management plan at Grand Bay NERR focuses on activities in wet pine savannas and flatwoods because fire is crucial to the maintenance and restoration of these communities. Without fire, the open savanna would be lost to vegetative succession. The plan places less emphasis on the prescribed burning of the salt marsh communities, because fire is not considered critical for the continued existence of this habitat type.


Fire-adapted plant species recover quickly after a prescribed burn. Left: 5 days after a burn; right: 41 days after a burn.

Prescribed fire is an important management tool for maintaining pine savannas and other habitats at Grand Bay NERR.

Other Techniques

Other techniques used to manage the habitat types of Grand Bay NERR include Geographic Information Systems (GIS), habitat restoration, and tree-thinning.