Koi, hawkweed and ox-eye daisy, three invasive species.  images courtesy Invasive Species Council

Prince George, B.C.- Koi and Knotweeds,  two species which have made their way into  North Central B.C.,  and just two of the many species  which the Invasive Species  Council would like to eradicate.

May  is Invasive Species Month in B.C, and the Invasive Species Council is  trying to spread the word faster than  the fish or  weeds can  reproduce.  It’s no easy task  says Gail Wallin,  Executive Director of the Invasive Species Council “The concern about invasive fish is one  concern  across the north.  We have a very active fishing industry  for tourism, and  some people will actually transplant fish  from one area to the next, either for bait,  which is illegal,  or  for trying to establish a new fishing culture.   Right now in the Cariboo, we have small mouth bass  introduced which is in the Beaver Valley System which could then flow into the Quesnel River and into the Fraser.”

in the case of Koi,   Wallin points to the  efforts to   clear Dragon Lake  where recently volunteers pulled  thousands of Koi from the lake in an effort to  protect that Lake’s trout population.  Koi  (or goldfish) are being  added to water gardens, and  those same fish  will  somehow end up in a local creek .    In the past,  it may have been possible for some species to be  at least reduced, if not killed during a cold winter, but  winters have  been milder,  and the  invasive  species are  not only surviving, but thriving.

There are three different kinds of Knotweed in B.C.   all of which are  very aggressive and  can damage  roadways  and  foundations of homes says Wallin “Knotweeds are one of those things that if they’re on your property,  you don’t want them and they are difficult to   treat.  They take pesticides to remove them, or you can work for 30 years to remove every plant  that’s there.  Once you’ve cut it,  it can regenerate more vigorously so you don’t want to cut it unless you are dedicated to  20 plus years of work.”   She says  in  England   there are some places where  mortgages on homes are not available if there is knotweed on the property because the weed can  destroy   the foundation of a home.

“Most of the invasive plants have been intentionally brought in for landscaping  planting, and there are  some that just explode in numbers” says Wallin “In the North, you’ve got  hawkweed and ox-eye daisies,  those are huge issues across B.C.”   She says Hawkweed has become  very wide spread, and there is some research underway to  find some way to  control the hawkweed  infestation.  “If you are buying hay, or taking horses into the backcountry, you want to make sure you know what they’ve been eating and what feed you’ve got  so   they’re not eating in areas of hawkweed and transporting it to areas  when doing a backwoods trip of some sort.”

Knowledge is  key to  dealing with invasive species,. Many garden stores are identified as being “plant  wise”  says Wallin  “That’s the first step,  and  most retailers have  information on their   plants,  so if you see  a plant  description that says  the plant is ‘very vigorous and contain in pots’, those are alert signs  that this is an aggressive seeding, spreading plant.”

The Invasive Species Council  has developed an app    which will let you know  if the plant is invasive to the area.  The Plant Wise app  works on all smart  phone  platforms,  There is also a “report  a weed ‘  app and the Invasive Species Council  also has a website which  identifies some of the  invasive species B.C.  is targeting.