B.C. provides Fraser Valley Invasive Plant Council and Fraser Valley Regional District with $68,700 to fight invasive plants
Submitted. The provincial government is providing a total of $68,700 to the Fraser Valley Invasive Plant Council and Fraser Valley Regional District to help control the spread of invasive plants. The Fraser Valley Invasive Plant Council received $43,700 and the Fraser Valley Regional District received $25,000.
“The Fraser Valley Invasive Plant Council and Fraser Valley Regional District are experienced in working to protect and preserve B.C.’s natural heritage through the eradication and control of invasive plant species,” Maple Ridge-Mission MLA Marc Dalton said. “The work they are doing is very important for our environment.”
The funding will be invested in activities such as raising public awareness of invasive plants, surveying invasive plant populations and actively treating high-priority sites to control their spread.
Invasive plants are species that have been introduced into B.C. from other areas. They displace our native vegetation and can cause considerable economic and environmental damage, and some pose a health risk to people. Invasive plants may disrupt natural ecosystems, reduce biodiversity, increase soil erosion, alter soil chemistry and adversely affect commercial crops.
The grant to Fraser Valley Invasive Plant Council and the Fraser Valley Regional District is one of 29, totalling $1.6 million, which are being distributed province-wide to local governments, regional invasive species committees and the Invasive Species Council of B.C. to assist with their activities and support the objectives of the provincial Invasive Plant Program.
The Invasive Plant Program identifies sites where invasive plant species have been found and responds rapidly to contain and eradicate them before they become established and start spreading.
This funding is in addition to the $809,000 already earmarked by the provincial government for invasive plant control and management in the fiscal 2014-15 year.