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On November 26th, 2012 the European Fire Ant in BC: 2012 Field Results and Planning Forward Workshop was held in Richmond, and was open to governments, leaders and communities of affected or threatened regions. The workshop was a follow-up meeting to the European Fire Ant Planning Session for Governments held in June 2012. European fire ant (EFA) expert Dr. Robert Higgins provided insight on his work over the last six months which included mapping current fire ant populations and hosting fire ant identification workshops throughout the summer. Dr. Higgins hopes to continue his work into 2013 focusing on further mapping of current populations and establishing effective controls. Bill Hout with the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development discussed legislation for enabling local government actions in regards to the EFA. The objectives from Joint Action Plan that was created during the June workshop were used to guide the group in discussion and to collaboratively determine next steps. The final report on the workshop has been posted for the public on both the Inter-Ministry Invasive Species Working Group`s (IMISWG) website and the ISCBC`s website. Please click here to access the report.
The workshop was a cooperative success bringing together federal, provincial and local governments as well as non-profit organizations to manage the presence of EFA in BC. The overall outcomes of the workshop include an agreement to work together as management and research continues to move forward, to share knowledge and expertise and a commitment to provide collaborative education for the BC public. Additionally, a full agreement was reached to continue research on mapping the current distribution of EFA and to seek tools that restrict their spread. With the success of another EFA planning session, another workshop is planned to be held in June 2013!
EUROPEAN FIRE ANT IN BC: 2012 FIELD RESULTS AND PLANNING FORWARD WORKSHOP A report based on the workshop for European fire ant held November 26th, 2012
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