EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The London Plan policies support and direct the City to protect, restore and enhance the Natural Heritage System. Council’s Strategic Plan for the City of London (2015-2019) identifies areas of focus for the city’s long-term vision which includes the protection and enhancement of the Natural Heritage System and specifically the control of invasive species. In addition, the newly adopted London Plan (2016) builds on the City’s environmental policies and the importance of the Natural Heritage System, its biodiversity, ecosystem health, and how it is an essential component of the City’s landscape and character.

The City of London is an identified leader among other municipalities and other levels of government in demonstrating a proactive approach to the management of invasive species in our Parks, Woodlands and Environmentally Significant Areas (ESA) since 2006. Within our ESAs, Council approved Conservation Master Plans (CMP) direct and emphasize the need for invasive species control projects. In addition, the City has a woodland management fund that is used in part to address invasive species management in Woodlands.

However, the City of London, as with all Ontario municipalities, lacks a comprehensive city-wide strategy to address invasive species concerns over the short and long-term. It is widely recognized that if invasive species are ignored, not only does this affect the health of ecosystems in the long-term, but drastically increases costs associated with controlling invasive species once they can be no longer ignored 

and action must be taken. This lack of a strategy and clear focus limits our ability to control priority invasive species throughout the Natural Heritage System and substantially increase control and restoration costs.

With the help of the Ontario Invasive Plant Council’s (OIPC) strategic framework for developing a city-wide invasive species management strategy, London will continue to be a leader in Ontario in addressing invasive species control over the long-term. This will be accomplished through applying the strategic process identified in this London Invasive Plant Management Strategy (LIPMS) in addition to specific management programs for priority invasive plant species, including Phragmites australis (Common Reed), Japanese Knotweed, Dog Strangling Vine, Common and Glossy Buckthorn, and Giant Hogweed.

A major component of the LIPMS is to include multiple City departments in the identification and control of the priority species, making the LIPMS truly “city-wide”. The City of London currently manages Phragmites in ESAs and is developing a Phragmites control program for London, in consultation with Dr. Janice Gilbert, Wetland Ecologist and the City of St. Thomas, which has recently adopted a “Phrag Free City by 2020” program (see Appendix B). Working with regional partners and the province will enhance the effectiveness and sustainability of invasive species control efforts over the long-term. The LIPMS is intended to be a working document and the recommendations identified in this report will form the basis for the implementation of the LIPMS