35 | durhamregion.com | This Week | Thursday, November 3, 2022 | Available paper routes in your neighborhood! Earn your own money Call or email us now to start delivering 1-855-853-5613 OR customersupport@metroland.com A new mapping effort will allow Brock to take better aim at invasives including wild parsnip and dog-strangling vine. Brendan Perry, a summer student employed by the township to determine the scope of invasive species locally, reported to council on his findings at a meeting on July 25. "The presence of invasive plant species can have a variety of negative impacts on both wildlife and residents," Perry explained, citing economic damage from infringement on crops and maintenance costs, damage to forests and impacts on biodiversity from reducing food resources and habitat for native species, and danger to human health and safety from noxious plants including wild parsnip and giant hogweed, which have sap that can cause burns and skin irritation. While Perry found multiple invasive species during his summer mapping exercise, he pointed to two specific plants as ripe for intervention: dog-strangling vine and wild parsnip. "There are multiple areas in Beaverton where dog-strangling vine has already taken hold," Perry said. "That is going to continue to spread and take over more and more natural areas, and invade people's property. Wild parsnip as well I have found spreading in multiple areas, including near along trails and roadsides. I think it's important to, at the very least, increase awareness of the plant and the harm it can cause to residents if it's not going to be removed." He said now is a critical time to address the two species as they are present, but have not yet become dominant in many areas, leaving an opportunity to eradicate them before they can fully take hold. If action is not taken, Perry said removal may become too costly and ultimately ineffective, such as is the case for wild buckthorn, which has become entrenched along roadways and fence rows and would be extremely costly and time-consuming to address. "A lot of plants I found were in semi-isolated groupings where they hadn't fully taken over an area yet, that's why it's a key time to intervene," Perry said of the two target species. "If you can get in there and get rid of them now you can save a lot of time, money and frustration in the future." Council approved a staff recommendation to create an action plan with an annual $10,000 budget to begin addressing invasive species locally. "We thought we'd ask for the same amount on an annual basis until we can get a better handle on it because this is new to us as well," said Paul Legrandeur, director of public works for the Township of Brock, noting staff is still learning about the issue courtesy of Perry's report and an information session attended by staff. "As we're learning, we will gain a better understanding of what we can and can't do immediately," he said, but noted public education would be a simple and effective first step. "Public education is an easy and inexpensive way to get us started." While councillors were supportive of the recommendation, they noted more may be needed in the future to properly address the issue. "This is a welcome start to have this annually budgeted, but I don't think we should limit ourselves until we look into the actual cost of dealing with these invasive species," said Coun. Cria Pettingill. "I think ultimately it's going to cost us a lot more and we need to be open to that." BROCK TAKES AIM AT INVASIVE SPECIES This weed, called dog-strangling vine, is an invasive plant originally from Eurasia. It grows robustly, and can wrap itself around other plants, vines and trees. Steve Somerville/Torstar MOYA DILLON mdillon@durhamregion.com COUNCIL