Scotch broom is expected to be on the agenda at an upcoming Vancouver Island municipal summit.
Broombusters Invasive Plant Society made a presentation at the City of Nanaimo council meeting Monday, Feb. 6, advising that the Town of Qualicum Beach will be putting forward a resolution to the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities convention in Nanaimo in April regarding the rampant and unchecked spread of Scotch broom on Vancouver Island.
Executive director of the non-profit group, Joanne Sales, told Qualicum Beach council on Jan. 18 that the invasive Scotch broom is a growing concern that needs to be addressed by Island municipalities. She indicated that they can be the cause of wildfires, impact the regrowth of forests and are also detrimental to the food industry.
B次元官网网址淚t is a noxious weed on Vancouver Island and itB次元官网网址檚 time for us to join together and take a stand about this,B次元官网网址� said Sales, who added, B次元官网网址渨e cannot leave this problem to our children. For the sake of farms, food security, our forests and the future, cut broom in bloom.B次元官网网址�
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Sales stated an assessment report was made by the Invasive Species Council of B.C., which concluded that B次元官网网址淪cotch broom is the invasive species causing the greatest harm to species at risk in B.C.B次元官网网址�
She pointed out that the broom spreads rapidly, forming dense thickets and crowding out native plants. The plants are also highly flammable, toxic to grazing animals and wildlife, take over farms, forest and parklands and lead to a dramatic loss of diversity.
Scotch broom also poses problems to transmission lines, said Sales.
B次元官网网址淏.C. Hydro says they do not control the spread of broom under transmission lines because there is no pressure from governing entities,B次元官网网址� said Sales. B次元官网网址淭he problem with broom on transmission lines for us is extreme fire danger.B次元官网网址�
Another problem the society has encountered in their broom battle is privately owned lands that have been cleared of trees for development.
B次元官网网址淏ut the development doesnB次元官网网址檛 happen,B次元官网网址� said Sales, who cited a property along Alberni Highway that is now covered with broom after it was cleared two years ago.
B次元官网网址淭he fire chief says again broom is a significant threat as a fire hazard for urban interface fires within our region,B次元官网网址� said Sales.
Because Scotch broom is mostly on the Island, she said, itB次元官网网址檚 up to local governing bodies to speak out and get the plants classified as a B次元官网网址渞egional noxious weed on Vancouver Island.B次元官网网址�
Sales said the wording of the Qualicum Beach resolution isnB次元官网网址檛 yet finalized, but will be something along the lines of asking the province to establish and implement steps to control the spread of Scotch broom, including the creation of broom-free fire breaks, and encouraging municipal governments to use bylawas and policies to control the spread of the weed within urban boundaries.
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