Enter Our Cover Shot Contest

We're looking for a feature photo for our 2019 Annual Report. If you've got a beautiful scenic shot from within the RDEK, submit it! Even better if it includes invasive species in some way! Submit your photo today and you could see it featured on our Annual Report which comes out in May 2020.

Photos will be featured on our social media sites and our website.

The Contest will end on March 15th midnight.


HOW TO ENTER

1. Take a photo: We're looking for beautiful landscapes of the RDEK or a shot of invasive species that have affected our landscape.

2. Caption your photo: where was the shot taken? What's in it?

3. Share the contest with your friends! (no obligation)

See past cover photos here

2019 Innovations in Invasive Species Management Conference

Thanks to the sponsorship from Invasive Plant Control Inc. two of our staff attended the IISM Conference in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho in December. The agenda was jam packed with 98 presentations plus more exhibitors! EKISC staff are writing a summary report which will be made available soon. Some of the keynote speakers touched on some very challenging and successful projects. 

One keynote, Iain Paterson, spoke about the Working for Water programme in South Africa. Through the program, thousands (247,000) of jobs were created to clear invasive species helping regain the native ecosystem in South Africa, as well as employ citizens who, given the social problems in South Africa, may not be able to find work. Some key concepts:

• Programme started in 1995 after a new government came in in 1994

• 13 years of mechanical control for pines - the success is hard to quantify but for the proportion of area, plant density is lower

• Now employees are now hired to mass rear biological control agents to help with control

• Scientists quantified IP problem to secure funds which is a key factor for South Africas success

• Restoration is the main failure of the program, currently under a 10 year study of looking at areas that have been restored versus not

• There is currently evidence for and against how much water has been saved by clearing invasive plants

EKISC has now completed its 9th year of administering the Strategic Invasive Plant Control of Leafy Spurge, or SIPCOLS, Project. The SIPCOLS Project has allowed EKISC to work with partners across the Columbia Valley to reduce the infestation size and prevent further spread of Leafy Spurge, a vigorous invader that was first introduced into the Columbia Valley in the 1960's. Leafy spurge is a great threat to grasslands, pastures, and native ecosystems as it not only aggressively outcompetes desirable plant species, but can also be toxic to livestock and wildlife if ingested at high-enough quantities. 

Though the SIPCOLS project is largely made possible by support from the Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund (CVLCF), EKISC also partners with other organizations to apply a coordinated approach to Leafy Spurge management in the Columbia Valley. This includes the Village of Radium, BC Parks, Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations and Rural Development, FortisBC and the Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program. The goal each year is to not only treat existing Leafy Spurge populations, but also inventory and map new infestations. In 2019, a total of 99 Leafy Spurge sites were treated under this project, covering nearly 10 hectares of treatment area; over half of these were directly funded by CVLCF. Although each year we do add new Leafy Spurge sites to our records (due to a combination of the plant being easily introduced to new areas and our capacity to inventory additional locations), this project is helping us to achieve our long term objectives of working with land managers to collaboratively limit the current extent of Leafy Spurge populations, decrease the size of existing infestations, prevent new infestations from establishing, and increase stakeholder engagement. 

The Columbia Valley Local Conservation Fund is a partnership between the Kootenay Conservation Program and Regional District of East Kootenay that provides funding for projects that benefit conservation in the area from Spillimacheen to Canal Flats. 

PHOTO: Jeff Van Tine; Rocky Mountain Front Weed Roundtable’s Biological Control Program

The results are in!

Local Waterbodies remain free of invasive Zebra and Quagga Mussels in 2019

We recently received some good news! From June through October 2019, EKISC staff conducted plankton sampling for Zebra and Quagga mussels (ZQM) at 12 waterbodies throughout the Regional District of the East Kootenay. The samples were sent to a provincial lab for analysis and the results are in; all the samples came back negative for free-swimming, microscopic ZQM larvae called veligers.

Provincial Invasive Mussel Defence Program Summary

Invasive mussel inspection stations were operational from April 1 to October 26, 2019. For the 2019 season just over 52,000 inspections were performed and crews interacted with approximately 95,000 people to promote Clean, Drain, Dry.

Of the total watercraft inspected, 1,290 were identified as high risk, 86 Decontamination Orders were issued, and 79 watercraft were issued quarantine periods to meet the required 30-day drying time. A total of 348 decontaminations were performed by
provincial inspectors.