Home | Fraser Valley Invasive Species Society

About Fraser Valley Invasive Species Society

Protecting Fraser Valley Biodiversity

The Fraser Valley Invasive Species Society is a non-profit society. Our mandate is to minimize the negative social, economic, and environmental impacts associated with invasive species. We achieve our mandate through coordination of land managers, education and outreach, and on the ground invasive plant management. Invasive species are considered to be one of the greatest threats to biodiversity world-wide, second only to habitat loss. Already introduced plant species represent 26% of the entire flora in British Columbia (BC Conservation Data Centre, Ministry of Environment, 2012). All citizens of British Columbia are affected by invasive species. Help preserve our natural heritage!

Priority Ranking of Invasive Plants

There are many invasive plants in and on the watchlist for the Fraser Valley. Not all of them are equally abundant, aggressive, or pose the same impact. Because of this, and also because there are limited funds and capacity, this requires us to make strategic and prioritized decisions. Every 2-years, we assess invasive plants against the established criteria outlined below and assign management priorities at the regional, and sub-regional scale. This process is done in collaboration with land managers and partners.

Learn more about the prioritization process and criteria on our Invasive Species Prioritization page. Our past and most up-to-date priority species list for invasive plants can be found on our Plans, Reports, and Guiding Documents page. You can also visit our pages about invasive plants, and other invasive species for more details on each species.

We currently have five broad categories for invasive plants:

Prevent / EDRR

Considered high risk to BC and are either not yet present or new to the province; These species do not occur in the Fraser Valley or have less than 10 known sites. The goal for these species is immediate eradication if they are detected. These sites are extremely high priority for treatment. Watch for presence of this species, particularly near boundaries of the region and report.

Eradicate

These species are known in the Fraser Valley but with very limited distribution (ie. ~50 sites). Eradication is the objective and still achievable based on available control methods. Eradicate if found. These species are the highest priority for planned control operations.

Contain / Annual Control

These species are abundant (with no expectation of eradication) in certain areas of the Fraser Valley but have limited distribution in other areas. These species may also be priority for local governments due to potential harm to infrastructure/agriculture. Contain existing infestations and prevent spread to un-infested areas.

Established / Strategic Control

These are established species that are beyond landscape‐level control and/or have relatively low impact. Land managers may choose to treat these species at high priority sites (eg. wildlife habitat, corridors of spread, adjacent to agricultural land, restoration sites, etc.) based on specific land management objectives. Focus control in high value areas, or areas where reinfestation to the site can be prevented.

Widespread / Limited Action

These are widespread species that are beyond landscape‐level control, and most efforts to control these species would be ineffective or may not feasible. Determine whether resources should be spent on these species, and if the results of spent efforts would be worth it; may depend on infestation size, location, and goals of site.