An excellent group of people turned out for Elaine Armagost’s presentation on Invasive Alien Plants at the regular monthly meeting of the Horsefly River Roundtable, Feb. 17.
It turns out that even I have been harboring evil plants, believing them to be nothing more than a pretty wild flower that the wind delivered.
I am probably not alone in this, so with this report will include the description of an extremely common bad weed, the Orange Hawkweed.
There are 14 species of native hawkweeds in western North America.
There are also 14 species of invasive non-native hawkweeds in western North America, of which 13 have been recorded in B.C.; 12 of the 13 have yellow flowers.
Orange Hawkweed is the only species currently regulated by the Weed Control Act. Both species are identified in the Forest and Range Practices Act.
There is much information on how to deal with these weeds on your own. However, there is a web page on the Internet where you may report your weed’s exact location to the Invasive Plant Council of B.C.
If you Google IAP (Invasive Alien Species) you can report the weed type, and your address, or the address where you located the weed, and a report will instantly be passed on to the council and action will be taken right away.
Armagost said this is the most efficient way to achieve action on your issue.
In other roundtable news, Tracy Bond reported we should have answers on our funding in early March; the roundtable will participate in the Horsefly May Day Parade on May 14; the Salmon Festival will go ahead on Labour Day weekend, and the Williams Lake and 100 Mile House Rotary Clubs are lining up to help us with both finances and labour for worthy projects that we can find we need within the community. Our sincere thank-you is extended to these fine organizations for their interest.
At our next roundtable meeting at the Horsefly Community Hall at 4:30 p.m. March 17, Lee Heskith from the Farmland Riparian Interface Program will do a presentation open to the community at large.
If you have concerns, please come out and voice your opinion, or ask your question.
There will be time available for on-site visits on producers’ property to investigate potential watershed restoration projects.