Conservationists target three invasive species harmful to Medicine Hat

“If we allow the invasive species to continue to expand, the complex plant communities of the natural spaces will be overtaken by the invasives and so it will interfere with the biodiversity of our city,” says Munz Gue.

Russian Olive

Russian Olive (Photo Courtesy Brendan Miller)

This grayish-green coloured plant can be spotted on the college campus and in the Saamis Archaeological Site.

Local botanist Cathy Linowski says they were brought here from central and western Asia over 60 years ago because they make good shelter belt trees.

“There is nothing to stop them from spreading, they get going in the lower wetland areas and they take over and they crowd out all of our native trees and vegetation,” says Linowski.

She says a large amount of vegetation from Russian Olives ends up in our local waterways.

The accumulative effect, that vegetation promotes the growth of algae blooms because it adds more nutrients.

Those algae blooms lowers oxygen levels and that can cause local fish to die.

Horay Cress

Horay Cress (Photo Courtesy Brendan Miller)

The Horay Cress may be a small flower but it’s causing big problems.

It’s part of the mustard family and can form large infestations that can displace native species and reduce grazing quality.

“Once it gets growing it gets an underground root system going and it prevents other plants from growing at all. So you end up with this pure strand of nothing but Cress and nobody eats it. It’s got a nasty sap inside of it,” says Linowski.

Its rhizome root system allows it to grow from tiny shoots along its root nodes and can take over large areas quickly.

That means volunteers with the Grassland Naturalists have to make sure they remove the roots with shovels to ensure the Horay Cress won’t grow back.

Buckthorn

Buckthorn (Photo Courtesy Brendan Miller)

Buckthorn is another invasive species that’s causing problems in Police Point Park, Southeast Hill and Connaught pond.

Buckthorn is a woody plant that ranges in size from a shrub to a small tree.

Volunteers use a red tag system to identify Buckthorn that needs to be removed.

Grassland Naturalist John Slater says it’s important to remove Buckthorn because they are taking over native plants like Chokecherry, Saskatoon and other bushes that provide food for local birds.

“So that we retain the biodiversity of the plants which then of course supports the wildlife. Birds and other ground animals, otherwise we lose them all together. We’ve noticed that with songbirds. You take the Meadowlark, it seems to be decreasing in population here because of that,” explains Slater.

The Grasslands Naturalists say the public can help their efforts by acting as citizen scientists.

By downloading the free EDDMapS app you can take photos of plants you don’t recognize.

Those photos are verified by the invasive species council of Alberta.

If an invasive species is identified the council will contact local wildlife officials to have it removed.

by Brendan Miller

Conservationists target three invasive species harmful to Medicine Hat

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