“Motion to Implement Broom-Smashing at Vancouver Island Municipal Meetings this Spring”
Scottish broom is expected to be on the agenda of an upcoming community conference in Nanaimo.
The Broombusters Invasive Plant Society made a presentation at the Nanaimo City Council meeting on Monday, February 6, advising that the City of Qualicum Beach should submit a resolution regarding rampant spread to the Association of Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities convention in Nanaimo in April and uncontrolled spread of Scottish gorse on Vancouver Island.
The executive director of the nonprofit group, Joanne Sales, told Qualicum Beach City Council on Jan. 18 that the invasive Scottish broom is a growing problem that needs to be addressed by island communities. She pointed out that they can be the cause of wildfires, affect forest regrowth and also harm the food industry.
“It’s a noxious weed on Vancouver Island and it’s about time we united and took a stand on it,” Sales said, adding, “We can’t leave this issue to our children. For the sake of farms, food security, our forests and the future, prune gorse in bloom.”
READ MORE: Group is calling on private companies to eliminate the Scottish broom on their island properties
Sales stated that an assessment report was prepared by the Invasive Species Council of BC, which concluded that “broom is the invasive species causing the most harm to endangered species in BC.”
She pointed out that the gorse spreads quickly, forming dense thickets and crowding out native plants. The plants are also highly flammable, toxic to grazers and wildlife, taking over farms, forests and parklands, and causing dramatic biodiversity loss.
Scottish broom also poses problems for transmission lines, Sales said.
“BC Hydro says they don’t control the spread of gorse under transmission lines because there is no pressure from government agencies,” Sales said. “The problem with brooms on transmission lines is an extreme fire hazard for us.”
Another problem the society has encountered in its broom fight is privately owned lands being cleared for tree cultivation.
“But the development isn’t happening,” said Sales, citing a property on the Alberni Highway now covered in gorse after it was cleared two years ago.
“The fire chief says again that gorse poses a significant threat as a fire hazard for fires at urban interfaces in our area,” Sales said.
Because Scottish gorse is primarily found on the island, she said, it’s up to local governing bodies to speak up and classify the plants as “a regional noxious weed on Vancouver Island.”
Sales said the wording of Qualicum Beach’s resolution was not finalized but would be something like asking the province to define and implement steps to control the spread of Scottish gorse, including creating swept firebreaks and encouraging local government to Apply ordinances and policies to control the spread of weeds within city limits.
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