Huntly Land Co.Coastal & Phragmites Management (484) 486-7272 (302) 497-5263 Email us
Fly-over of the Delaware coastal marsh

Coastal & Phragmites Management division, Sussex County, Delaware

Phragmites, managed.The water view,returned.

Land management for waterfront estates, community associations and farm ground along the Delaware Bay and the Inland Bays. One program, from the first stand map to annual upkeep.

Request a site walkHow the program works
The short answer

The Coastal and Phragmites Management division of Huntly Land Co. runs Phragmites programs, marsh-edge ground and brush clearing, coastal-plain clearing, and ditch and right-of-way ground and brush clearing in Sussex County, Delaware. Ground and brush clearing alone does not control Phragmites; programs pair cutting with treatment. Huntly confirms with DNREC Wetlands and Waterways before cutting or spraying in tidal wetlands.

Winter sunrise over the marsh at Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Foord Landing, Delaware
Prime Hook, on the Delaware Bay shore

Winter sunrise over the marsh at Foord Landing. Reed, tidal water and open sky: the shoreline this division is built for.

Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: USFWS, public domain.
1The problem

A reed that owns the shoreline.

Phragmites australis, the invasive common reed, spreads by rhizomes and seed. It crowds out native marsh plants and, left alone, stands tall enough to close off the water from the house.

Phragmites australis is an invasive grass that can grow well over 10 feet tall and close a water view within a few seasons. Its rhizomes can spread more than 30 feet sideways and about 3 feet deep (DNREC), which is how a stand creeps from the marsh edge toward the lawn.

The plant you see is only part of the problem. The rhizome network underground sends up new shoots after a cut, which is why ground and brush clearing alone does not control Phragmites. A job that only clears is a job that returns.

Aerial of a Delaware Bay tidal inlet, salt marsh and a small harbor
Tidal inlet and salt marsh on the Delaware BayHuntly Land Co. job photo
Cutting is the part you can see. The program is the part that holds.
Huntly Land Co. field principle
2The program

Ground and brush clearing alone does not get rid of it.

Ground and brush clearing alone does not control Phragmites; programs pair cutting with treatment. So the work is sequenced across seasons: licensed treatment first, then ground and brush clearing and mulching, then follow-up that keeps the shoreline open. Licensed herbicide application runs under separate paper.

1

Assess and map

Walk the site, map the stand and confirm the permit path in writing before any machine moves.

2

Treat, then clear

Year 1: licensed herbicide application in late summer, then a winter clear and mulch of the standing dead biomass.

3

Spot-treat

Years 2 and 3: spot-treat regrowth and run a maintenance clear so the stand does not re-establish.

4

Maintain

Year 4 onward: annual maintenance, with the shoreline photographed from the air before and after.

3Before & after

Standing reed, open shoreline.

Cleared Phragmites field running to the bay shoreline after cutting Dense stand of invasive Phragmites covering a coastal marsh before removal StandingCleared

Drag, or focus the slider and use the arrow keys

Phragmites stand at the tidal edge, and a cleared shoreline field
4From the air and on the ground

Cut line, clean line.

Aerial of a coastal peninsula showing cleared Phragmites beside standing reed along the waterline
Coastal peninsula, cleared and standing Phragmites along the waterline
Shoreline marsh with cleared Phragmites beside the standing stand, cut versus uncut
Cut versus uncut, shoreline marsh
Aerial of a sandy bay beach curving along the edge of a salt marsh
Bay beach and marsh edgeHuntly Land Co. job photo
Wide aerial of a tidal creek meeting the bay through brown Phragmites marsh before ground and brush clearing
Tidal creek and bay edge, Phragmites marsh before ground and brush clearing
Wide aerial of a bay shoreline with a marsh and a pale sand edge along the water
The bay shoreline, wide, from above

The marsh, from the air. Delaware Bay shoreline, Sussex County

Waylon, illustrated. The real one rides along to work every day.
5The coastal field guide

Meet Waylon.

Waylon is real. He is our white Lab, and he comes to work every day. On the coast he takes the marsh path at the end of the shift, nose into the reeds, checking the tide line before anyone else does. If your site walk is on the bay side, you will probably get to meet him.

6Permits

Regulatory status, confirmed in writing.

Activities in Delaware wetlands generally require a DNREC permit (7 Del. C. § 6604), with some exemptions. We confirm with DNREC Wetlands and Waterways before cutting or spraying in tidal wetlands, at no cost to the owner.

The marsh soil and the rhizome mat are never disturbed. Ground and brush clearing is scheduled on firm or frozen ground in winter, and herbicide is applied by a Delaware-licensed aquatic applicator under separate paper.

DNREC’s cost-share program covers 87.5% of aerial herbicide treatment for qualifying Phragmites stands (landowner pays 12.5%), applied by helicopter in late summer and early fall over a three-year commitment. Enrollment requires 5 to 200 acres. It does not cover ground application, tax ditches, or removal of the dead standing reeds after spraying.

7Equipment

Light on the ground. Heavy on the reed.

Track carriers working on low-ground-pressure tracks are light enough for marsh-edge and frozen high-marsh work that trucks and tractors cannot reach. The Cat 285XE with forestry package and BRX418 brush cutter handle the standing biomass, and Huntly removes the dead material too, the part you actually see from the porch.

Cleared Phragmites swath beside standing green reed at the edge of a bay marsh
Cleared swath beside standing reed, marsh edge
Cleared Phragmites field with a tree line and open bay beyond
Cleared field, tree line and the bay beyond
Dense green Phragmites filling a marsh around a small pool of open water
Standing reed around open water, before ground and brush clearing
Aerial view of Delaware Bay shoreline, marsh and tidal inlet
A clean cut line against standing reed
8Coastal services

Four lines of work in Sussex County.

  1. 1.

    Phragmites programs

    Multi-year treat-and-clear programs on the water for waterfront estates and community associations.

  2. 2.

    Coastal-plain selective clearing

    Forestry mulching and selective clearing on coastal-plain pine, with specimen trees and topsoil left in place.

  3. 3.

    Lanes and corridors

    Lanes and corridors cut on sandy soils, wide enough to drive and maintain.

  4. 4.

    Ditch and right-of-way ground and brush clearing

    Ditch and right-of-way ground and brush clearing for farms and tax-ditch organizations. Storm cleanup runs here as well.

9Where we work

The Delaware coast, bay to bay.

Waterfront estates, association frontage and farm ground across Sussex County, Delaware, on the Delaware Bay shore and around the Inland Bays. Based in the Brandywine Valley, Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania.

10Questions

Asked before every site walk.

Does ground and brush clearing alone get rid of Phragmites?

No. Ground and brush clearing alone does not control Phragmites; programs pair cutting with treatment. Its rhizomes can spread more than 30 feet sideways and about 3 feet deep (DNREC). That is why Huntly sells a program: licensed treatment, then clear and mulch, then spot-treat and maintain. A view-only maintenance clear is available with the trade-offs explained up front.

Does Delaware help pay for Phragmites control?

Partly. DNREC’s cost-share program covers 87.5% of aerial herbicide treatment for qualifying Phragmites stands (landowner pays 12.5%), applied by helicopter in late summer and early fall over a three-year commitment. Enrollment requires 5 to 200 acres. Applications are first-come, first-served with a mid-summer deadline. If you qualify, we will tell you and help you enroll.

Do I need a permit to cut Phragmites in Delaware?

Activities in Delaware wetlands generally require a DNREC permit (7 Del. C. § 6604), with some exemptions. We confirm with DNREC Wetlands and Waterways before cutting or spraying in tidal wetlands, at no cost to you, and the marsh soil is never disturbed.

How is Sussex County work documented?

Coastal projects are photographed from the air before and after where the site allows, and the record belongs to the owner. A community is named only when a photograph was actually taken there.

Can you work on wet or soft ground?

Low-ground-pressure track equipment is light enough for marsh-edge and frozen high-marsh work that trucks and tractors cannot reach. Timing is set around the season and the ground during the site walk.

How do I start?

Email hello@huntlyland.com with the town, a rough acreage and a few photographs of the shoreline. A site walk is scheduled from there.

Sources: Delaware DNREC (wetland permits, 7 Del. C. § 6604; Phragmites cost-share program).

In this division

Coastal & Phragmites Management pages

Sussex County data and conditions: original Sussex County land and parcel statistics (SussexCounty.ai)

Before you write

Phragmites, permits, cost-share and timing

Regulatory notes are general guidance; Huntly confirms the rules that apply to each site before work.

What shapes the cost of a Phragmites program in Sussex County, DE?

The size and density of the stand, access to the marsh edge, the frontage involved, the number of years in the program and whether licensed herbicide application is part of it. Licensed applications and permits are quoted as separate visible lines, and every program is priced in writing after an assessment of the stand.

Does Delaware help pay for Phragmites control?

DNREC’s cost-share program covers 87.5% of aerial herbicide treatment for qualifying Phragmites stands (landowner pays 12.5%), applied by helicopter in late summer and early fall over a three-year commitment. Enrollment requires 5 to 200 acres. Applications are first-come, first-served with a mid-summer deadline. If you qualify, we will tell you and help you enroll.

Does ground and brush clearing alone get rid of Phragmites?

No. Ground and brush clearing alone does not control Phragmites; programs pair cutting with treatment. Its rhizomes can spread more than 30 feet sideways and about 3 feet deep (DNREC).

Do I need a permit to cut Phragmites in Delaware?

Activities in Delaware wetlands generally require a DNREC permit (7 Del. C. § 6604), with some exemptions. We confirm with DNREC Wetlands and Waterways before cutting or spraying in tidal wetlands.

When is marsh work scheduled?

Mechanical ground and brush clearing is scheduled on firm or frozen ground in winter. Herbicide is applied by a Delaware-licensed aquatic applicator in the late-summer window DNREC uses, and the state cost-share program sprays by helicopter in late summer and early fall. Track carriers working on low-ground-pressure tracks reach marsh edges that trucks and tractors cannot.

Keep exploring

More from the Coastal & Phragmites Management division

11Schedule a site walk

Let's walk the shoreline.

hello@huntlyland.com

Send the town, rough acreage and two or three photographs. We reply by email with site-walk times, and a written scope follows the walk.

Delaware & coastal line: (302) 497-5263 · Main line: (484) 486-7272

Goes straight to the Huntly project lead. No lead broker, no reselling, no mailing list.

Plan a site walkStorm or emergency

Office hours Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. On call 24/7 for storm and emergency cleanup. If anyone is in danger, call 911 first.