The province recently boosted invasive plant management with $3 million in funding through the Ministry of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO).
The Invasive Plant Council of BC (IPCBC) will use the funding to create Take Action, a new employment program that will train and hire up to 150 people to help prevent and reduce the spread of invasive plants.
Cariboo Regional District (CRD) chair Al Richmond says this will result in several new jobs in a new crew assigned to the Cariboo, to supplement those already hired by the district.
"They'll be working in areas that forestry [MFLNRO] directs, but essentially it will be our crews that it will pay for, under the supervision of our invasive plant people."
The crews the CRD has now concentrate on reducing and removing invasive plants along the highways, he explains, where they spread rapidly.
"[The new crew] will work on Crown land, so we're pleased that, one: we'll have more employment in the Cariboo; but, two: ... on Crown land that we don't look after, there may have [otherwise] been nothing done."
There are currently 12 Regional Weed Committees in British Columbia that will use the funding to place new, local Take Action teams.
The teams will perform tasks specifically identified as critical to each local area. This includes removing new invasive plants and reducing their introduction and spread; identifying and listing priority invasive plants; and monitoring public awareness and behaviour relating to invasive species.
IPCBC will also partner with the Grasslands Conservation Council of British Columbia to help protect sensitive grassland ecosystems threatened by invasive plants.
An invasive plant is any non-native plant that has been introduced, either intentionally or accidentally, from other areas.
They choke or drive out native plants, alter ecosystems, increase wildfire hazard, and even impact human and animal health, as well as property and crop values.
There are also issues with costs for treating infestations, impedance of trails and recreation, damage to fishing streams and tire punctures that can result from invasive plants.
Information on identifying invasive plants and managing their negative impacts is available online at www.invasiveplantcouncilbc.ca/invasive-plants/invasive-plant-watch.
