Road rally set to seek out Brock invaders Experts hit the road on October 27 to track local invasive species
Media are invited to ride along with the O.F.A.H./MNR Invading Species Awareness Program (ISAP) and partners for the day as they explore Brock Township in search of invaders. The road rally is designed to locate invasive species, record the coordinates using GPS, and enter the data into a new Invasives Tracking System (ITS). Participants of previous rallies have identified over 200 new records of invasive plants.
Volunteers will gather at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday October 27 at Beaverton Harbour Park where they will assemble into teams and take to area roads seeking out terrestrial invasive species. Participants will be on the look out for plants such as giant hogweed and dog strangling vine.
The ITS is a web-based tool designed to store sightings of invasive species province-wide, and through the Internet, share the compiled data. It also allows users to view and download reports and maps of invasive species distribution. The project, which was led by the ISAP and funded through Environment Canada’s Lake Simcoe Clean Up Fund, was successfully piloted in the Lake Simcoe watershed this spring. There is no fee associated with using ITS, however visitors must register before they can enter data and report sightings. Visit www.comap.ca/ITS for more information. Several road rallies have been held around the province over the summer in support of ITS and to engage citizens and resource agencies to monitor and track the spread.
The Invading Species Awareness Program is a partnership of the Ontario Federation of Anglers and Hunters and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. To learn more, visit www.invadingspecies.com
What:
Invasive Species Road Rally to search for terrestrial invasive species in Brock Township.
Who:
Teams will follow routes and track species sightings with GPS coordinates. Media is invited to join a team, but this is not a public event.
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