May 08 2006
Clearwater Times (http://www.clearwatertimes.com)
The Province has launched Canada's first web-based tool in the battle against invasive alien plants, Forests and Range Minister Rich Coleman and Agriculture and Lands Minister Pat Bell announced last week.
Left unchecked, invasive plants can cause crop and livestock losses, destroy wildlife habitat, crowd out endangered plant species and lower property values.
"Invasive alien plants threaten both our biodiversity and our economy," Coleman said. "Our timber and ranching industries depend on native species. Their loss due to the spread of non-native plants that are less valuable or even toxic puts these industries at risk. At the same time, alien plants push out native plants that sustain our wildlife and ecosystems."
The Invasive Alien Plants Program is a web-based data entry system and mapping tool. It will allow about 200 people working in government, industry and local weed committees to quickly and efficiently share information about where invasive plants are located, and what weed control treatments have been used. By sharing data, the agencies involved in invasive plant management will be able to prioritize work across B.C., prevent duplicated efforts and measure progress.
"This government is committed to working effectively and collaboratively on the problems of invasive plants," said Bell. "In 2004, we announced the Province would boost spending on invasive plants by over $3 million, to a total of $8 million over two years."
Agencies involved in the management of approximately 140 species of invasive plants in B.C. include the Ministries of Agriculture and Lands, Environment, Forests and Range, and Transportation as well as the Invasive Plant Council.
The government agencies form the Inter Ministry Invasive Plant Committee that manages invasive plants on Crown lands.
"This new web tool is a very positive development for all those involved in invasive plant issues," said Juliet Craig, co-ordinator of the Central Kootenay Invasive Plant Committee. "It gives all of us the ability to pull maps and find information whenever we need it, whether it's for conducting inventories, treatments or monitoring."
The public may access the application to produce maps showing the location of various weed species in B.C. The Invasive Alien Plant Program Application is available online at www.for.gov.bc.ca/hfp/invasive/
