3.0 THE NEED FOR A STRATEGIC PLAN

The City of London is located within the Carolinian Life Zone, which

although only totals <1% of Canada’s land mass, is home to over 2,200 species of herbaceous plants. This species diverse life zone is also Ontario’s most ecologically threatened region (Carolinian Canada, 2016). Unfortunately, Ontario is home to the largest number of invasive species compared to any other province or territory. This is due to many factors including favourable environmental conditions, the nature of our industrial and urbanized society, population density, large quantity of imports, the geographical location in close proximity to multiple access points to the American border, and the degraded habitat and ecosystems in the ecological regions.

The LIPMS is designed to address the need to identify and prioritize invasive plants posing a direct threat to the City of London’s Natural Heritage System. This strategy will provide direction for municipal action currently absent from documentation at the federal and provincial level. Canada’s National Strategy, An Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada, and the provincial strategy, the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan (2012), are essential tools in developing the framework of a London-specific strategy.

London is in need of additional strategies designed to assist in protecting the health of the Natural Heritage System. The LIPMS will use existing provincially-recognized best management practices for the identification, monitoring, treatment, and eradication of priority invasive plant species within the City of London. This management strategy will “encourage rehabilitation and enhancement measures that protect the ecological function and integrity of the Natural Heritage System,” a priority identified in policy 1417 of the London Plan. The maintenance and protection of the Natural Heritage System through the use of the LIPMS will reduce economic costs associated with invasive plant species control in the future, as well as improve social and recreational experiences and opportunities within the City of London.