LTVCA staff remove invasive plant

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Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority personnel recently discovered and removed a large quantity of water lettuce from McGregor Creek. The plant can be identified by its thick, hairy, green leaves that resemble a head of lettuce floating on the water.

Someone’s been dumping their pond plants into McGregor Creek.

Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority officials said personnel discovered water lettuce in the creek recently

Water lettuce is often used in water gardens, but is an invasive species. When w909ater lettuce is introduced to watercourses and other natural waterbodies, it outcompetes native plant species, blocks water flow, negatively impacts fish communities and can impede recreational activities such as boating and fishing. 

To stop the spread of this species and arrest the ecological damage it can cause, staff took action to inform local landowners of the concern and to remove the plants in McGregor Creek.

The LTVCA’s Species at Risk field crew and a Wetland Restoration Technician travelled down McGregor Creek by canoe, filling nine garbage bags full of water lettuce. 

The plants were then burned offsite to prevent any chance of it spreading.

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