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Article: Marsh Grass Spreading in San Francisco Bay
- Article from:
- AP Online
- Article date:
- November 10, 2004
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Associated Press. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Associated Press. (Hide copyright information)
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TERENCE CHEA, Associated Press Writer
AP Online
11-10-2004
Dateline: SAN FRANCISCO
An exotic marsh grass is spreading throughout San Francisco Bay more rapidly than anticipated, threatening native plants and birds and prompting an urgent search for ways to eradicate it.
Spartina alterniflora, also known as Atlantic cordgrass, has expanded from 470 acres in 2000 to an estimated 2,000 acres in 2003, according to the California Coastal Conservancy's San Francisco Estuary Invasive Spartina Project. Those 2,000 acres are distributed over 69,000 acres of tidal marsh and mudflats throughout the bay.
"We're at the beginning of an explosive expansion of this plant," said Peggy Olofson, the project's ...