Like a man on a wire, John Fisher tried to educate an Aug. 20 gathering about the invasive phragmites weed while holding a lid on the bubbling resentment of shoreline property owners, angry over the loss of sand beaches.

Fisher, the superintendent of Wasaga Beach Provincial Park, abandoned his prepared presentation as participants, overflowing the council chamber, made it clear during several angry outbursts they didn't want education; they wanted action.

A woman interrupted the presentation to stand up, turn to the audience and call out, "raise your hand if you're here to learn about phragmites." Very few hands were raised.

Fisher told participants that those who wished to learn more about phragmites could call him at the park office to arrange for a smaller group information session.

Before the outbursts began, park planner, Natalie Leclerc, had given a short talk about the invasive species, telling the meeting that a phragmites action plan had been prepared in February by Keith Johnston, the park's natural heritage education coordinator.

One woman said of the people gathered, "what they're feeling is frustration."

Another said people pay big dollars to purchase beachfront property and then pay high taxes only to lose their sand beaches to the weed invasion for which there seemed no solution in sight.

 "This town has no identity without the beach," one person called out.

 "I've been at the beach 50 years," said one man, adding that in all that time "we saw sand and not swamp."

 "I've been at this beach for 50 years as well and it never looked like this," a woman spoke out.

People would be willing to spend money and time to clear the beach themselves, someone offered.

 "While you're investigating things, the roots are getting bigger and bigger," said one participant.

 "We are taking steps to manage the phragmites," said Fisher, stating that he had made a decision to cut back one third of the vegetation nearest the shore.

Generally, if you cut phragmites, it gets worse, Fisher pointed out.

He told the meeting that his staff will cut the weed stalks down to diminish the amount of vegetation requiring herbicide treatment in the fall, thus reducing the required amount of plant killer.

 The herbicide must be applied to each individual stalk with gloved hands, he explained.

 "Can we arrange a meeting with the minister of the environment?" suggested a participant, after hearing Fisher proclaim that their concerns were becoming a political issue and he is not a politician.

There were at least three politicians in the room, Mayor Cal Patterson and councillors George Watson and Connie Gray.

While some residents took aim at the council for what they saw as its inaction on the weed issue, the meeting made clear that the municipality has no jurisdiction over provincial parkland.

All eight beach areas, including New Wasaga and Allenwood, come under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Parks.

One member of the audience said the beach weed issue does indeed involve councillors as, he said, they keep developing new subdivisions and the water from those former wetlands is now flowing down to the beach.

At one point, Mayor Cal Patterson rose as if to speak but it became unnecessary as a member of the audience suggested that everyone calm down and listen to the water expert, Dr. Allan Crowe, of the National Water Research Institute.

Crowe said that in the last decade beaches in the entire Great Lakes region have started to deteriorate. "If you think you have a problem, walk up to Woodland."

Crowe expressed his disappointment that the audience didn't hear Fisher's entire presentation, as, he said, Fisher's plan is probably the envy of most jurisdictions.

Fisher agreed.

"I believe our plan is setting the bar for the province."

The meeting heard that Wasaga is considered a relic beach in the sense that it's not renewable. There is very little new sand coming in, Fisher said, so that "if we do the wrong thing we could lose the beach."      

"We've got to be sure we don't end up fighting nature on this one," Fisher told the Wasaga Sun on Friday, "because we'll always lose that battle."

Fisher explained that he is bound to adhere to legislation set out in the Provincial Parks and Conservation Reserves Act, proclaimed in September 2007.

The act, he said, is geared to maintaining biodiversity while providing opportunities for compatible, sustainable recreation.