Dr. Catherine Tarasoff of Agrowest Consulting, contracted by Widlife Canada, spent the week of May 4th at Vaseux Lake advancing efforts to control the invasive yellow flag iris (Iris pseudacorus). Two volunteers from the Vaseux Lake Stewardship Association assisted Dr. Tarasoff and her field team in treating infested areas, with a focus on the south end of the lake.
Control efforts included the cutting, stitching, and deployment of benthic barrier mats over a large area of iris infestation. These barriers were paddled over to the treatment area, placed and secured using spikes and collected rocks to weigh them down.
In addition, a benthic barrier that had been in place for three years at the north end of the lake was removed. The results were more than encouraging: the yellow flag iris beneath the barrier was entirely dead. With the rhizome mats now decomposing, the underlying rocky and gravelly substrate is being restored– creating improved habitat for macro invertebrates, which in turn support fish, waterfowl, turtles and other native species.
This ongoing effort marks another significant step toward preserving the ecological health of Vaseux Lake’s sensitive wetland habitat.
Cutting and Assembling Benthic Barrier Mats.
Transporting the Benthic Barrier Mats to the Treatment Area.
The Benthic Barrier Mats were placed and secured using spikes and rocks to weigh them down.
Entirely dead iris rhizome.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.