USDA Program Helps Manage Cattails, Blackbirds Free USDA Program
Helps Manage Cattail, Blackbirds Treatments by helicopter offer
better control Dense stands of cattails provide ideal roost and
nest habitat for blackbirds. During late summer and early fall,
large flocks of blackbirds gather in cattails, which can result
in severe damage to nearby sunflower, corn, and small grain
crops. Since 1991, the Wildlife Services division of the
USDA/Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has administered
a cattail management program in North Dakota and South Dakota.
Through this program, Wildlife Services makes aerial
applications of an EPA-approved aquatic herbicide to reduce
cattail density. Approximately 70% of the cattails are sprayed,
and the removal of cattails disperses the birds. In addition to
helping disperse blackbirds, removal of the cattails provides
environmental benefits to other animals using the wetland. The
herbicide also helps eliminate noxious weeds that grow on
wetland edges, such as Canadian th