Discussions over how Greenwood wants to move forward with invasive plant control was a highlight for the city council, with questions over improving public communication to alleviate fears over spraying.
Darrin McBee, operations coordinator with Boundary Invasive Species Society (BISS), gave a presentation for the May 26 regular council meeting, highlighting the work done in the city and surrounding region, as well as suggestions on how to move forward.
There was a proposal to continue working with BISS to control invasive species through their programs, including budgeting for chemical treatments. The current partnership sees BISS coordinate awareness programs, property visits, assessments, contractors who perform chemical or hand treatments when needed and provide advice on management. The city encourages residents and landowners to control weeds through proper disposal.
He explained BISS is a way to bring together land managers and land owners in the Boundary Region. They meet several times a year to identify invasive plant species that are considered priorities for control and removal and move ahead with plans best suited for the area.
“What we are trying to say is it’s better for everyone to be targeting the same thing all at once from a region-wide perspective because invasive plants can easily cross over jurisdictions from private land, to municipal land and provincial land,” he said. “So if everyone is on the same page and treating the same thing, it’s way more efficient use of everyone’s funds.”
The City of Greenwood had been hiring contractors to conduct herbicide treatments within the city for many years but had stopped. Last year, BISS was hired to identify locations of priority invasive species within the city and give this data to a contractor that was hired directly by the city so the contractor could carry out herbicide treatments.
Invasive species management is implemented through an integrated pest management approach, he said. This approach does not solely rely on herbicide, focusing instead on using the best tools available to minimize harm to humans, the economy and the environment. The main focus of this approach is prevention before treatment. Prevention involves teaching residents to identify new species when they first arrive, cleaning equipment, and managing land in a way that prevents establishment of new species.
If treatment is required, herbicide, digging, hand pulling, or mowing are all considered and the most suitable option for the specific species present and location is chosen. Land managers within the Boundary are invited to a spring planning meeting each year that involves ranking invasive species from highest to lowest priority within the Boundary. Management is focused first on the highest priority species. Priority is based on current or future damage of the species to the local economy and/or environment.
He explained how that is done by highlighting how certain species are prioritized. There are five categories, with the highest being a watch list (for species not yet here, but are being watched for immediate action when they do,) then eradication or biological control, then containment, strategic control and biological control the lowest. There is an unclassified category, but it’s for species that aren’t considered threats, he said.
He also went through some species of concern already known to be in and around Greenwood in small patches, such as knotweed (also known as bamboo), common bugloss, common tansy, hoary alyssum, hoary cress and bachelor’s buttons.
While these are in small patches around Greenwood and Midway, he said these can quickly spread when left untreated, and in the cases of hoary alyssum and hoary cress, can impact agriculture, as they are toxic to horses. Once it gets into hay fields, it renders the hay virtually unsellable for horse feed.
The presentation featured a highlighted map of Greenwood's streets, particularly the north and south sides of Greenwood, where streets were treated. However, that doesn't mean the entire street was sprayed with herbicide. McBee said most city residents seem to do quite an excellent job of controlling invasive species on their own by either hand pulling or frequent mowing right up to the road in front of their properties. These areas, where landowners are already controlling their weeds, were not sprayed by the contractor, which makes up a significant portion of most roads.
While residents are being proactive in the city, McBee did highlight that part of the problem is people dumping yard waste and unwanted plants in ditches and fields. Plants can then take root and spread.
When questions and comments were opened up, Coun. CJ Rhodes pointed out BISS was here last year and discussed some of the chemicals used in weed control.
“I don’t mean to be dramatic, but we have residents that have serious concerns over these chemicals,” he said. “They are primarily pet owners and residents that are asking questions. It’s maybe three or four people, but they are very emotional about this, so having a rational conversation can be difficult to get past that, but I recognize the concern.”
Rhodes asked if he could explain what they use and how they are applied to alleviate some concerns. McBee said he too has heard concerns, but BISS doesn't choose the chemicals, the contractors they hire make the decision. However, if there is a herbicide people are concerned over they can inquire and BISS can work with the contractor to use an alternative.
McBee added they work with the Ministry of Transportation to ask landowners and residents living outside municipalities to pull weeds ahead of time because contractors aren’t blanket-spraying roads, only where target plants are visible.
“If the contractors don’t see any plants, they won’t spray that area at all,” he said.
Barb Stewart, biologist with BISS, explained in her experience, people react badly when they don’t know what’s happening. From her understanding, there have been incidents when there was no notice when contractors would be spraying, especially near roads.
“When people are told and they have questions answered, they have far less concerns,” she said. “We used to do a joint ad between Midway and Greenwood in the newspapers each year, but we haven't done that for a while. So when people asked why they weren’t informed, we could point out we had an ad for a while and could’ve expressed concerns.”
She added that there are some risks, but also a lot of misinformation. One of the more common herbicides used is identical to ones sold under Killex brand names in hardware stores, with similar precautions like not touching a sprayed area for 24 hours. The difference is contractors use blue dye to mark where they sprayed so people can see it.
The best way to help inform the public, Stewart said, is to give out their contact information so people can get in touch with them directly.
Controlling illegal dumping of yard waste is a challenge around Greenwood, admitted Councillor Clint Huisman, asking if there was anything BISS could do to help. McBee said that is a challenge with practically all municipalities, with some putting up signage.
The RDKB also has a program where people can drop off invasive yard waste at its dumps for free, as long as it's double-bagged.
This came as a surprise for some councillors.
“I’m sure there’s tons of people that don’t know about that. We can help promote that program for your communities. We do promote that through our social media,” he said.
