Submitted
A new Thompson-Nicola Invasive Plant Management Committee (TNIPMC) has been created by the TNRD to administer invasive plant management within the TNRD boundaries.
Invasive plants occur outside their natural range and can have significant ecological, social, and economic impacts once established.
READ MORE: Weeding out harmful invasive plants (Sept. 18, 2011)
READ MORE: Japanese knotweed in Clearwater (April 3, 2017)
The key functions of the TNIPMC are to provide coordination and communication amongst land managers to ensure everyone is working together in their own operations to minimize the spread and impact of invasive plants across jurisdictional boundaries. Other functions include education, promoting research, and ensuring financial accountability.
“This new committee is a tremendous opportunity to make a difference in invasive plant management,” said Kenneth Gillis, TNIPMC chair and TNRD director for Electoral Area L (Grasslands). “The TNRD is home to a substantial area of grasslands which are critically important for agricultural and ecological values, and prone to invasive plant infestations.”
The membership of the TNIPMC includes representatives from following:
• TNRD directors from electoral areas and a municipality
• Provincial government (Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, BC Parks)
• Shuswap Nation Tribal Council
• Nicola Tribal Association
• BC Cattlemen’s Association, as well as key organizations with invasive plant expertise.
• Thompson Rivers University
• Grasslands Conservation Council
The Southern Interior Weed Management Committee (SIWMC), which delivered invasive plant management on Crown land throughout the TNRD over the past two decades, ceased to exist in 2017.
The original TNRD Invasive Plant Committee, which had existed since the 1970s, has been replaced by the TNIPMC.
The public can inquire about invasive plant management within the TNRD as follows:
• Phone 250-851-1699
• Email invasiveplants@tnrd.ca
• Web www.tnipmc.com
newsroom@clearwatertimes.com
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