Spartina is a good plant in the east coast because it’s food for animals and stops soil from washing away in the tide. Although it’s usually helpful, in Puget Sound it hurts the animals and plants growing and living there. It kicks out native plants and then the animals have less food to eat. This is why the kids at Lincoln Elementary school in Mount Vernon, Washington want to get rid of the spartina that has been growing in Puget Sound. By removing Spartina from Puget Sound they hope that they will succeed and prevent more damage from being done.
Spartina has caused major problems to Puget Sound by harming native plants and animals. It has started growing in Puget sound where it’s not native to so it’s called an alien species. Since no animals eat spartina in Puget Sound, this alien plant has taken over and caused damage. Spartina has started growing in clumps which crowds out the native plant. Spartina also clogs up all the which changes the shape of the mud flat. Finally, spartina has caused animals to leave because of less food. Spartina that provides food and shelter at its home has become an enemy at Puget Sound.
Though useful in its native eastern habitat, the introduction of spartina in the 1800’s has caused environmental harm. Spartina originally comes from the east coast, where plants and animals there keep it from growing out of control. It also stops soil from getting washed away in the tide. Although these traits are good for the east coast, it’s not good for Puget Sound. In the 1800’s settlers wanted to raise oysters in the west, so they packed it in fresh spartina to keep it fresh. When the oysters were put in new beds in Puget Sound, it made spartina seeds sprout. Spartina was also planted by duck hunters to attract more ducks, was planted by engineers to keep the soil in place, and was planted by farmers to feed their cattle. Spartina was brought to Puget Sound in multiple ways but it ended in disaster.
Once the kids at Lincoln Elementary found out that spartina was an environmental disaster to Puget Sound, they decided to try and stop it. They reduced the amount of spartina by cutting its seed heads, holding town meetings to talk about spartina, making diagrams of the effects of spartina, and writing letters to state lawmakers urging them to help. These students worked as a team to spread the word of spartina as a threat to Puget Sound. They tried their best to raise voices in order to get attention from all the people, so that the problem could be recognized.
When a plant or animal is moved out of its natural habitat by accident or on purpose, it could have devastating results. This is what happened with Spartina. It’s an alien species to Puget Sound and is also an invasive species which has destroyed the balance of nature. Spartina was moved west into Puget Sound in numerous ways which were mostly the result of humans. We need to be more careful to make sure plants and animals stay inside their natural habitat or transport them with great caution. To solve the invader problems we are facing now, we have to spot the threats quickly to take action before it gets out of control. Everyone plays a role in making sure mistakes like these don’t happen again.
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