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 台湾MM裸聊室 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.
鈥淚t is a noxious weed on Vancouver Island and it鈥檚 time for us to join together and take a stand about this,鈥� said Sales, who added, 鈥渨e cannot leave this problem to our children. For the sake of farms, food security, our forests and the future, cut broom in bloom.鈥�
READ MORE:
Sales stated an assessment report was made by the Invasive Species Council of B.C., which concluded that 鈥淪cotch broom is the invasive species causing the greatest harm to species at risk in B.C.鈥�
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.
鈥淏.C. Hydro says they do not control the spread of broom under transmission lines because there is no pressure from governing entities,鈥� said Sales. 鈥淭he problem with broom on transmission lines for us is extreme fire danger.鈥�
Another problem the society has encountered in their broom battle is privately owned lands that have been cleared of trees for development.
鈥淏ut the development doesn鈥檛 happen,鈥� said Sales, who cited a property along Alberni Highway that is now covered with broom after it was cleared two years ago.
鈥淭he fire chief says again broom is a significant threat as a fire hazard for urban interface fires within our region,鈥� said Sales.
Because Scotch broom is mostly on the Island, she said, it鈥檚 up to local governing bodies to speak out and get the plants classified as a 鈥渞egional noxious weed on Vancouver Island.鈥�
Sales said the wording of the Qualicum Beach resolution isn鈥檛 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.
Like Us
