The War Against Weed And Critters
Saturday, April 13, 2013 @ 4:34 AM
Prince George, B.C. – Gardeners, government, industry and recreationalists are all being enlisted in the war against the spread of invasive plant and animal species in northern BC.
The provincial government is spending $1.7 million through 28 grants to local governments, regional invasive species committees and the Invasive Species Council of B.C. to raise public awareness, survey invasive plant populations and treat high-priority sites to control the spread of invasive plants. The Council, based in Williams Lake, is getting $170,000 which will be used to co-ordinate and support a province-wide reporting system so that associated organizations can report on invasive plants and species.
Council Executive Director Gail Wallin tells 250 News in a one-on-one interview that “There’s lots of plants, including exotics, or species that are not native to the Prince George area that are fine. There are only a few plants that are invasive but they take over the habitats or communities of other plants and species. If you find or see something you’ve never seen before or didn’t plant in, say your garden, you’d want to indentify whether this is a weed of whether it’s something that’s taking over your garden, and that would be a sign that it’s an invasive.”
Wallin says there are more invasive species in the south than the north because of the milder weather. She says most are transported north by people. One that turns up in this region, but hasn’t turned up as yet this year, is hogweed. “You’ve likely seen them along your highways, orange and yellow hogweeds, with really brilliant flowers. You look at it and go, that’s beautiful, but those are really rapidly-spreading and just take over habitats and fields. Actually it changes the chemistry of the soils. It’s a very invasive plant and there’s not a lot of tools in place to control or contain it.” Wallin says intensive research is currently underway to find a biological control, a natural predator for the plant. Another invasive plant in this area is the marsh plume thistle, a large, aggressive, versatile plant that grows in many habitats. “There were initial findings of that plant in Kitimat and now it’s spread through some of the north. It’s a plant that will hinder the growth of new seedlings, so it has some major impacts on forestry, which, of course, is really important to the north.”
Wallin says people are the problem. “Invasives are largely spread by people, and we’re working with two key groups: one is the horticultural community to stop the growing and seeding of invasive plants; the other is boaters, because often boaters go from one body of water to another which can move invasive species from one body of water to another. Your group has also done a lot of work with ATVers, getting them to clean their vehicles before they move from one infested area to ride in a new area. We’re working with boaters associations and fishermen’s groups to make sure they clean, drain, dry their boats so they’re not transporting invasive plants or species. Again, people are the problem, not the plants or species, but it’s the plants and species that cause the impact. People are the ones that move them around.”
Wallin says the resource industry has become pro-active as well. “We’ve been developing training programs with forestry and oil and gas groups so that when they go out and do projects on the land they can implement practices so they don’t spread invasive species. Same goes for Ministry of Transportation roadside contractors. They’re maintaining roadside vegetation so we’ve been training them on what to do to reduce the spread. Things like don’t mow when plants are in seed; don’t take loads of gravel from a contaminated gravel pit and spread it along the roadside because then you’re spreading these weeds.”
Finally, Wallin has some tips for Joe and Jenny Weedwhacker. “If you’re buying garden plants and don’t know a thing about them ask the store if the plants are invasive in the area. There are lists available and they can check that. Before you move your camping or recreational equipment make sure they’re clean from all the seeds and plant parts that you can transport from one area to another. That particularly applies to aquatics because aquatics are a really tough thing to manage. Once you’ve got a problem in a lake or water body you have less tools to manage the problem with.”
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