Invasive Species Awareness Week Day 1: Prioritization and Rush Skeletonweed

This week is about recognizing the different invasives that are found in the Okanagan and Similkameen valleys and how they can be managed.

Firstly, not all introduced plants are considered invasive, they only claim that invasive status when they start taking over and disturbing the biodiversity in the area. And like most things, there is a spectrum of how bad they are and their priority level. Some are prioritized if they are not yet prolific in an area. So if they start showing up, we want to remove them as quick as possible before they really establish themselves and make it hard to get rid of.

One such case is with Rush Skeletonweed. This weed is seen quite a bit in the North Okanagan, but not really in the South. Because it's not established in the south, if you see any, it is important to report it as soon as possible. To report invasive species, you can contact a local invasive species coordinator, which in the South Okanagan and Similkameen is OASISS (Okanagan and Similkameen Invasive Species Society), or there is a Report Invasives App that is through the province.

Image link: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/62042620