State of Ontario’s Biodiversity | Invasive Species Strategic Plans

Indicator

Invasive Species Strategic Plans

Trend

Data Confidence

Geographic extent

This indicator reviews progress in achieving Target 7 through a narrative description of the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan (OISSP as well as an assessment of the number of additional invasive species plans in Ontario that have been prepared by other agencies and organizations.

Status:

Strategic plans are in place at the national and provincial level to reduce threats posed to biodiversity by invasive species. Several organizations have also developed management plans to address invasive species threats at smaller scales, often for specific species or groups of species.

Provincial Strategy

The Ontario government published the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan (OISSP) in 2012. The development of the plan was led by the Ministry of Natural Resources, in conjunction with other ministries involved in invasive species management in Ontario (Agriculture and Food, Environment and Transportation).
The goals outlined in OISSP are to prevent, detect, respond to, manage and adapt to invasive species. The OISSP describes actions taken to manage invasive species, identifies gaps in programs, and describes Ontario’s actions/tactics needed to respond to these gaps.
OISSP provides a provincial framework to enable the provincial government and its partners to address the threats posed by invasive species. An implementation plan has been developed that identifies key priorities for focus over the next few years.

Survey of invasive Species Plans

Figure 1. Number of additional invasive species plans in place or in development in Ontario by partner type.

Status:

More than half of the 53 survey respondents (54%) identified that their organization had developed a plan (47%) or was developing a plan (7%).
Of the 25 invasive species plans that have been prepared, 11 apply to a regional scale, while 10 are local or site-specific in their focus.
The majority of plans (64%) are directed at terrestrial species, primarily plants and insects.

Invasive species are a significant and growing threat to Ontario’s biodiversity (OBC 2010). Strategic plans to manage invasive species are an important tool in the fight against the introduction, establishment and spread of these unwanted pests.

At the national level, Canada’s provinces and territories along with the federal government contributed to the development of An Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada that was approved in 2004 (Government of Canada 2004). The national strategy identifies key actions to reduce the risks from invasive species and provides a framework under which provincial plans can be developed. Subsequent national action plans have been developed related to the management of aquatic invasive species, invasive terrestrial plants and plant pests and wildlife disease (CCFAM 2004, CFIA 2005, EC 2004). Some plans have also been developed at the binational level such as the Lake Superior Aquatic Invasive Species Complete Prevention Plan (Lake Superior Binational Program 2014).

Ontario’s Biodiversity Strategy, 2011 (OBC 2011) identified the need for enhanced efforts in Ontario to address invasive species prevention, control, rapid response and management. In 2012, the Ontario government released the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan (OISSP) that provides a framework and identifies key actions to reduce the threats posed by invasive species in Ontario (OMNR 2012).

This indicator provides an assessment of progress in achieving Target 7 through a narrative description of OISSP as well as an assessment of the number of additional invasive species plans in Ontario that have been prepared by other agencies and organizations.

Information about the Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan (OISSP) was summarized from the document (OMNR 2012) with additional information obtained from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry.

Specific data about additional invasive species plans in Ontario were collected as part of a larger survey conducted in 2014 by the Ontario Invasive Plant Council (OIPC) and the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF). The purpose of the survey was to identify additional invasive species plans (including strategies and management plans) that have been prepared in Ontario (Fig. 1), their geographic scale (provincial, regional or local) and their species focus. The survey was sent to a large number of organizations and individuals including municipalities, conservation authorities and other stakeholders. Survey responses from 53 different organizations are used for this indicator. Further details on the results of the survey are available in a companion technical report (Higginson 2015).

Web Links:

Ontario Invasive Species Strategic Plan http://viewer.zmags.com/publication/43e2ab69#/43e2ab69/1

Ontario Invasive Plant Council http://www.ontarioinvasiveplants.ca/

An Invasive Alien Species Strategy for Canada http://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2014/ec/CW66-394-2004-eng.pdf

References:

Environment Canada (EC). 2004. National wildlife disease strategy. Environment Canada, Ottawa, ON.

Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers (CCFAM). 2004. A Canadian action plan to address the threat of aquatic invasive species. Canadian Council of Fisheries and Aquaculture Ministers Aquatic Invasive Species Task Group, Ottawa, ON. [Available at: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/science/environmental-environnement/ais-eae/plan/plan-eng.htm ]

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). 2005. Canadian action plan for invasive alien terrestrial plants and plant pests. Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Ottawa, ON.

Government of Canada. 2004. An invasive alien species strategy for Canada. Ottawa, ON.

Higginson, S. 2014. Invasive species strategic plans. Draft -State of Ontario’s Biodiversity Technical Report Series, Report #SOBTR-03. Ontario Biodiversity Council, Peterborough, ON.

Lake Superior Binational Program. 2014. Lake Superior Aquatic Invasive Species Complete Prevention Plan. [http://www.epa.gov/glnpo/lakesuperior/lake-superior-ais-prevention-plan-201401.pdf]

Ontario Biodiversity Council. 2011. Ontario’s biodiversity strategy, 2011: renewing our commitment to protecting what sustains us. Ontario Biodiversity Council, Peterborough, ON.

Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources (OMNR). 2012. Ontario invasive species strategic plan. Queen’s Printer for Ontario, Toronto, ON. [Available at: https://dr6j45jk9xcmk.cloudfront.net/documents/2679/stdprod-097634.pdf]

Last Updated: May 18, 2015

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