August 12, 2024
OTTAWA —The Ford government will spend $16 million to ‘stop the spread’ — of invasive species like the European Common Reed, a towering perennial grass also known as phragmites.
The money will go to municipalities, conservation authorities and Indigenous groups to prevent non-native plants and bugs from spreading or getting a foothold in the province over the next three years.
Two organizations, the Invasive Species Centre and Nature Conservancy of Canada, will administer the funding, which includes an effort specifically targeting invasive phragmites. The reedy plant grows in large stands and somehow arrived in Ontario from Eurasia decades ago. It sucks up a lot of water and emits chemicals from its roots that suppress other plants. Ontario researchers have released a caterpillar with a taste for the phragmites, in a bid to control the plant.
The Invasive Species Centre has estimated that invasive species are a potential $3.6 billion threat to the province’s agriculture, fisheries, forests, tourism and recreation, and health care.
Read More: https://farmersforum.com/ontario-to-combat-invasive-european-common-reed/