Invasive Plant Management & Restoration of Protected Areas
This program aims to retain functional and sustainable ecosystems in protected areas of the Upper Columbia Valley by mitigating the impacts of invasive species. Benefits include the reduction of propagule pressure (number of individuals of a species released into a region to which they are not native) from neighbouring invasive species populations; wildlife habitat conservation; long-term cost-savings through collaborative invasive species management action; and restoration of degraded areas with native plant species. The results will be fewer sites with unpalatable, invasive plants.
In 2015, invasive plants were treated over several thousand square metres at many sites at seven different conservation properties in the Upper Columbia Valley. This action alone prevents the established invasive plants from spreading their seeds and subsequent invasions. It will also result in more available forage for wildlife. In 2015, approximately 100 kilograms of seed mix was distributed on conservation properties in the East Kootenay region. This mix is comprised of quick-growing, competitive species to prevent invasive plant growth, as well as longer-lived perennial species that ideally match the existing ecosystem.
Final Report: Executive Summary
The invasion of noxious weeds has numerous negative impacts on natural ecosystems. Invasive plants threaten the health of Canada’s limited native grasslands, may displace or extirpate endangered plant and animal species, negatively impact wildlife habitats, reduce productivity in forestry, agriculture and fisheries, and overall contribute negatively to functioning ecosystems. The Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program provided financial support to the East Kootenay Invasive Species Council to retain functional and sustainable ecosystems by mitigating the impacts of invasive species in protected areas of the East Kootenay and their adjacent lands. In 2016, invasive plant inventories and treatments were conducted at partnering conservation properties: Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC), the Nature Trust of BC (TNT), the Ministry of Forests, Lands, & Natural Resource Operations (MFLNRO), BC Parks and other high-value adjacent lands. This successful collaboration resulted in an efficient partnership to decrease the existing invasive plant populations, as well as to prevent any further negative impact on the ecosystem.
Click the provincial database link below to read the full final report for this project.