Topsail Nature Preserve to temporarily close Wednesday for invasive plant treatment

TOPSAIL BEACH, NC (WWAY) — The Topsail Nature Preserve, including its beaches and parking lot, will temporarily close Wednesday morning while crews treat an invasive plant species.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality says the preserve will close to the public during the morning of Oct. 7 while a licensed contractor applies herbicide to control Common Reed, also known as Phragmites australis.

The treatment is expected to take a few hours and will take place in the interior of the preserve.

Visitors are asked not to enter the preserve while the work is underway.

The preserve is expected to reopen later Wednesday once the treatment is complete. DEQ says the beach areas will be safe for public use when the preserve reopens.

According to the agency, Phragmites australis is an invasive, non-native plant that can form dense stands and crowd out native vegetation. It can spread through seeds and underground stems known as rhizomes.

DEQ says herbicide treatment is the most practical way to control the plant because of its aggressive growth and the size of the infestation at the preserve.

The application will be conducted by a licensed contractor in accordance with herbicide label requirements approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Management of the Topsail Nature Preserve was transferred to DEQ’s Division of Coastal Management earlier this year. The agency says controlling the invasive plant is part of its work to protect and enhance the preserve’s native coastal habitat.

DEQ plans to announce when the preserve has reopened through a news release and its social media page.