Invasive Plants

At the recent West Central Municipal Government Committee meeting we learned about invasive plants. Invasive species are typically:

• exotic, non-native species that have no natural predators;
• invasive in the sense they are easily able to establish, thrive and spread;
• destructive by causing substantial loss to agriculture, environment, health, infrastructure, and the economy.

Red Bartsia

Commonly invasive species are introduced by humans either intentionally or unintentionally.

The province has three pieces of legislation to manage invasive species:

• The Weed Control Act through the Ministry of Agriculture;
• The Pest Control Act through the Ministry of Agriculture, and
• The Fisheries Act through the Ministry of Environment.

The Provincial Government has a three point strategy to mitigate invasive species:

1. Awareness through: education, communication, and collaboration.
2. Assessment through inventory, prioritization, and prevention.
3. Action with:
1. early detection and rapid response, and
2. control

The key to success in all of this rests on our willingness to act when we recognize an invasive species. For more information or to report a concern call Shauna Lehmann, Senior Environmental Engineer, Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure at Shauna.Lehmann at gov.sk.ca.

Absinthe

Many thanks go to Shauna for her presentation and material.