The Chincoteague Island Arts Organization

"The Marion Lake Story: Defeating the Mighty Phragmite" -  a CIAO TV presentation... watch it again!

An uplifting example of how concerned citizens can make a big difference when they tackle something together. The aggressive phragmite reed is now found everywhere along the eastern seaboard, encroaching on our wetlands and upsetting the delicate ecological balance that is vital for the survival of wildlife and native plants.

The Marion Lake Story tells the compelling story of how a community on the east end of Long Island, N.Y. came together to clear their lake of the highly invasive phragmite reed.  They educated themselves, raised money, hired wetlands biologist Steve Marino to plan the eradication, and eventually got out to “weed the communal garden.” Years later, a bio-diverse habitat for native birds, plants and rare turtles is returning; and the phragmite reed is in retreat. Human intervention here is not to shape nature to one’s aesthetic taste, but rather to restore nature so that it can take its own course. 

Shot over 7 years, this was the first film to follow an eco-restoration project from inception to completion, taking the lake from an unsightly, unhealthy lake to a bio-diverse habitat for birds and wildlife on the Atlantic Flyway.