PETERBOROUGH – On Thursday July 13, the Invading Species Awareness Program (ISAP) will welcome back the annual Water Soldier Watch Day, an event where ISAP engages volunteers to raise awareness about this highly invasive aquatic plant and to help search for water soldier outside of the known distribution on the Trent-Severn Waterway.
The event was established in 2014 and ran annually before being put on hiatus in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This year,the event will focus our efforts upstream of the known populations from Highway 30 in Trent Hills, 10 kilometers upstream to Lock Number 18 in Hastings,” explains ISAP Aquatic Project Specialist, Rob McGowan. “Come out and join us July 13 to search for water soldier on the historic Trent-Severn Waterway. We are meeting at the Cenotaph Boat Launch and highway 30 at 10 am.”
BACKGROUND
Water soldier is an invasive aquatic perennial plant that is native to Europe and Northwest Asia. Prior to being regulated as a prohibited invasive species under Ontario’s Invasive Species Act, water soldier was sold for use as an ornamental plant in water gardens, which is the most likely source of its introduction to the wild.
WHERE IS IT CURRENTLY FOUND?
The populations that occur in Ontario are within the Trent-Severn Waterway, the Black River (near Sutton, ON) and in Red Horse Lake north of Gananoque.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Robert McGowan Aquatic Project Specialist
705-748-6324 ext. 242
robert_mcgowan@ofah.org