Management Strategies:

If City Council wishes to implement an invasive species management strategy, Administration has prepared a number of options.

Option A – Status Quo

Although the City does not currently have an Invasive Species Management Strategy, invasive species control is undertaken in some areas of the City by various departments including Parks and Public Works. In some natural and naturalized areas of the City, Wild Parsnip is removed when it is within 1 to 2 metres of an authorized trail. While the City does not have the capacity in terms of human resources to remove all invasive species that are close to authorized trails, Administration targets areas where the plant may grow tall enough and/or has a high probability of falling onto a trail user. The process is very selective in order to target the areas of the highest concern. This bank of Little River does not currently receive invasive species removal.

Option B – City-Wide Invasive Species Management Strategy

Should City Council wish to create a City-Wide Invasive Species Management Strategy, it is recommended that a consultant be hired to do so. A consultant would undertake a number of steps to create a plan including: mapping of locations, best management practices for control of targeted invasive species across the City, and mitigation measures to reduce the spread of invasive species, which could be adopted by City departments. In addition, these measures could become the standard for any third party contractors who may be doing work in on City property in the area of invasive species.

The City of Windsor has an approved management plan for Black Oak Heritage Park which includes invasive species management strategies and a consultant has already been hired by the City to prepare a City-wide management plan for invasive phragmites. Both of these documents will have valuable information which could be used in a City-Wide Invasive Species Management Strategy. The purpose of a City-Wide Invasive Species Management Strategy is to address issues with invasive species across the entire City and across multiple departments, not just natural areas.

The City of London was the first municipality in Ontario to develop an approved City-Wide Invasive Species Management Strategy in 2017. A copy is attached to this report.

It was developed based on the Ontario Invasive Plant Council’s (OIPC) document “Creating an Invasive Plant Management Strategy: A Framework for Ontario Municipalities”. A major component of the strategy is to include multiple City Service Areas including Planning, Stormwater, Drainage, Public Works and Parks, in the identification and control of the priority species, making the strategy truly “City - wide”. These departments take active roles in controlling invasive species not only in existing facilities, but also on vacant lands, and future development lands.