Buffalo (WBEN) -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on Tuesday announced the first phase of a project to remove aquatic invasive plant species at Times Beach Nature Preserve.

The work on this $500,000 project, which actually began last summer, is expected to take five years.

Working under the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and partnering with Erie County, the city of Buffalo, and the Friends of Times Beach, the effort will involve several methods to remove and replace under the auspices of the Corps' Engineer Research and Development Center's aquatic plant-control research program.

"A variety of mechanical and chemical methods will be used to remove invasive species and replant with native species," Colonel Owen Beaudoin, Buffalo district commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said during his remarks at Tuesday's ceremony at the nature preserve.

The project will plan, design, and implement full-scale projects to demonstrate means of removing, adaptively monitoring and controlling aquatic invasive plants.  A particular area of focus is expected to be control of the non-native perennial grass, Phragmites australis (common reed).  Rapid expansion of this plant has devastated aquatic, wetland, and riparian habitats thoughout North America, according to a fact sheet provided by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The fact sheet also addresses Project Status:  "FY11 funding will be used to complete mowing, spraying, and monitoring for two years of Phragmites australis control through Fall 2013. FY12 funding will be used to award contracts to complete three more years of treatment and monitoring through 2017."

The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative addresses invasive species, contamination and pollution, and encourages government agencies at all levels to work together to protect the lakes.