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VICTORIA – The government of British Columbia is spending more than ever before, a total of $8 million over the next two years, to protect valuable forest and range land from the effects of non-native plants and weeds, Water, Land and Air Protection Minister Bill Barisoff announced today.
The Province will increase spending on invasive weed control by $3.3 million over the next two years. Left unchecked, invasive plants can cause crop and livestock losses, destroy wildlife habitat, crowd out endangered plant species and lower property values. Invasive plants cost B.C.’s economy tens of millions of dollars each year in lost productivity, and can reduce crop yields by an average of 10 to 15 per cent.
“Invasive plant control programs play a key role in the fight against the non-native species and noxious weeds that threaten B.C.’s land and resources,” said Barisoff. “This significant funding commitment – the most B.C. has ever spent on invasive plant control – reflects the important our government places on this matter and is due in large part to MLA Dave Chutter’s leadership on this issue.”
The increased funding will significantly expand existing provincial programs that target invasive plants on Crown land and in transportation corridors, and provide grants to local governments to encourage new regional weed-control programs.
“Invasive plants impact the productivity of range land and can significantly delay forest regeneration,” said Agriculture, Food and Fisheries Minister John van Dongen. “This funding is in support of ranchers, farmers and communities in our efforts to control non-native plants and weeds.”
In addition, the increased funding will support a number of new invasive plant control projects provincewide. Projects approved to date include noxious weed management inventory and assessments in the East Kootenay, the development of an invasive plant management plan in the Mid-Skeena Watershed of the Gitxsan Nation, and invasive plant control in Lac du Bois Grasslands Protected Area near Kamloops.
Funds will also go towards post-fire weed management in the Okanagan region, where fire-stricken areas are highly susceptible to encroachment from invasive plants. Additional regional projects are expected to be approved in the coming months.
In addition to the funding, Barisoff announced an Invasive Plant Advisory Panel, chaired by Yale-Lillooet MLA Dave Chutter, who has played a key role in raising awareness of the threats posed by invasive plants. The panel will provide advice to government on long-term solutions to control invasive weeds and plants on Crown land. The Province’s initiative will complement efforts already underway by the Fraser Basin Council, which has co-ordinated the development of a provincewide strategy to combat the problem of invasive, non-native species. The Province recently confirmed its endorsement of the council’s strategy.
“British Columbia is under attack from alien plant species, and we’ve been losing the battle,” said Patrick Reid, chair of the Fraser Basin Council. “The Fraser Basin Council is very pleased by the province’s support for the Invasive Plant Strategy and hopes the endorsement will act as a catalyst for others to support the work of the new Invasive Plant Council.”
Invasive plants can move into an area and reproduce aggressively, often displacing the original vegetation. Some of B.C.’s most threatened and endangered ecosystems, such as the Garry oak meadows of Vancouver Island, are being destroyed by non-native species such as Scotch broom and the Himalayan blackberry.
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