Columbia Headwaters Invasive Plant Species

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See an invasive plant in the Columbia Wetlands?

Tell us where you saw it.

On the lookout for noxious weeds

You can recognize invasive plant species quite easily. If you see any of these plants near the wetlands, please contact us. To learn about the other 20 or so invasive plant species that are threatening our wetlands, visit this great resource or download our brochure to find out how they spread and what you can do to help.

Wildsight is learning that the Columbia Wetlands are largely free of noxious weeds and we want to keep them that way. These aggressors can pose huge threats to the wetland ecosystem. They disrupt the diversity of living creatures, displace native plants and could be disastrous to the delicate web of life within the wetlands.

Wildsight is working to remove current terrestrial invasive plant infestations and to prevent any new invaders from moving in. The Columbia Headwaters Invasive Plant Species Project:

  • Has mapped the extent of terrestrial invasive plants at the major access points into the wetlands.
  • Has developed and conducted an inventory of aquatic invasive plants at wetland sloughs located within the Columbia Wetlands Wildlife Management Area.
  • Helps land managers plan to treat weeds with mechanical means or biocontrol agents, not pesticides.
  • Involves volunteers to remove invasive plants from the wetlands and from surrounding communities.
  • organizes community weed pull events in Golden, Horse Creek and Radium.
  • Runs a community weed program in Golden, B.C.
  • Educates people as to how they can STOP introducing invasive plants into the wetlands (PDF)


New to the project this year, Wildsight will be surveying several of the lakes used for recreation in the Columbia Valley, including Lake Windermere. We will be identifying aquatic plants in each lake, collecting baseline data, and looking for any and all aquatic invasive plants that might be present in the aquatic system.  If any aquatic invasive plants are located, management plans for eradication will be developed.  

Wildsight is working closely with the Regional District of East Kootenay, the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, the East Kootenay Invasive Plant Committee of B.C. and the Lake Windermere Project on this initiative.

You can help us protect the Columbia Wetland ecosystem.

Please let us know if you see invasive plants near or in the Columbia Wetlands. If you’d like to learn more about Wildsight’s Columbia Headwaters Invasive Plant Species Project, you can also call us at 250-427-9325.

If you see an invasive plant in your backyard, or anywhere within the province, please call the provincial wide hotline, Report-A-Weed at 1.888.WEEDS.BC

 

Wildsight thanks the following organisations for funding the Columbia Headwaters Invasive Plant Species Project:

  • Columbia Basin Trust
  • Rural Golden/CSRD
  • Regional District of East Kootenay
  • The McLean Foundation
  • Columbia Wetlands Stewardship Partners
  • Town of Golden


Thanks also to our partner groups, the East Kootenay Invasive Plant Council and Central Kootenay Invasive Plant Council.

 

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