Home / Resources and Writings / Weblog / Invasive Plants / The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia

The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia

Invasive species can quickly spread through new areas, causing ecological damage and threatening rare native plants or animals. Dealing with aggressive species costs the province millions of dollars annually. The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia (IPCBC) was recently formed to help coordinate a strategy for the management of invasive species. Based on the Invasive Plant Strategy, a plan developed by a diverse group representing all levels of government, agriculture, industry and community, the IPCBC hopes to bring all parties together in the fight against invasive species.

Link: The Invasive Plant Council of British Columbia the IPCBC website

Posted by Eric La Fountaine at 5:40 PM on July 25, 2005

Want to talk about this weblog entry? As of August 22, 2006, all new entries and most older entries are cross-posted to the UBC Botanical Garden Discussion Forums for discussion (you might need to use the search function to find the thread you are looking for).

This is an effort to reduce the amount of time spent dealing with spam (the forums are very good at stopping spam, the weblog commenting system is not so good).

Older entries already containing comments remain open for discussion.

Comments

I have been asked about whether or not people should worry about the spread of the Mayday tree (Prunus padus)in the Yukon. This concern results from news releases from Alaska where the tree seems to have spread into the forests adjacent to city parks and gardens. I was surprised that this is happening in Alaska and wondered why I have never seen evidence of mayday trees spreading in BC where I lived for 30 years. Is there any evidence that it is invasive? I would appreciate a rapid reply as the local Whitehorse paper is planning to put an article together about invasive plants for next week (August 10th). Thanks for your help.
Rosamund Pojar

Posted by: Rosamund Pojar at August 5, 2005 11:41 AM

Greetings,

I am a Master of Science graduate student under the direction of Dr. Wayne Landis, Director, in the Institute of Environmental Toxicology at Western Washington University. We are currently funded by a grant from the Border Policy Research Institute to evaluate the risks due to invasive species in association with various modes of cross border transportation. I am working on a screening level ecological risk assessment to:

1) evaluate the modes of transportation (rail, road, boat), as well as the mechanisms and pathways by which certain non-indigenous, invasive species (NIS) are introduced and transported across the Washington State and British Columbia, Canada border, and

2) quantify and calculate the potential risks the NIS pose to shared resources in the marine, aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems on a regional trans-boundary scale.

Crucial to the success of this project is obtaining input from local, state, provincial, First Nation, Native American and public stakeholders to identify key NIS of greatest concern due to their potential trans-boundary environmental, economic, social, cultural, and/or aesthetic impacts. During my preliminary review of the research conducted by other agencies and groups on NIS in the northern Puget Sound/Georgia Basin region I found your name listed as a potential contact.

I would greatly appreciate any input, guidance, and/or referrals to other contacts you have to offer. Are there two or three invasive species you would prioritize to have included in this ecological risk assessment, as well as any native species or habitats that may be at greatest risk based on your research? Moreover do you have any data, reports, maps or GIS layers that you could provide to help in this assessment?

I would be happy to come to your office or correspond via e-mail, if it is more convenient for you. I would also greatly appreciate any referrals you may have to others outside your organization that would be good contacts as a stakeholder and/or additional source of information. At the conclusion of this project I would be happy to send you a copy of the final ecological risk assessment, as well as come and present the results to you, your colleagues, and any other stakeholders you identify.

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond to this inquiry. I look forward to hearing from you at your convenience, or I will follow up with a phone call shortly.

Sincerely,

Laura Sellens
Institute of Environmental Toxicology
Huxley College of the Environment
Western Washington University
516 High Street, ES 518, MS-9180
Bellingham, WA 98225-9180
360-650-6136
sellenl@cc.wwu.edu

Posted by: Laura Sellens at July 17, 2006 1:52 PM