Weed pull event goes Saturday in Pincher Creek

BLUEWEED CONTINUES TO BE A THREAT TO AREA

The Pincher Creek Watershed Group is hosting its 15th annual Blueweed Blitz on Saturday.

The volunteer-based event brings together members of the community to unite in their fight against noxious weeds found within the land of their small town.

Blueweed Blitz brings out more than 100 volunteers each year, and has been known as a lively and social event. This weed pull is held annually to help eradicate and control the overpowering nature of the infamous Blueweed.

Bradley Bustard, chair of the steering committee in Pincher Creek, says the event is a chance for the community to get involved with helping the environment all whilst indulging in a lively community function.

“These weed pull events bring awareness to the problem’s existence and another big benefit that we see is community involvement and socialization amongst neighbours and landowners,” says Bustard. “People you might not see every day and participants can get to know some new people.”

The noxious Blueweed is an invasive plant that if left to multiply, will result in the eventual choking of other vegetation in riparian ecosystems spreading away from the banks with prolific seed production.

The importance of water to Pincher Creek’s way of life and economy continues to increase throughout the years, making the need for these annual weed pulls more prevalent.

Pincher Creek runs nearly 70 kilometres before flowing into the Oldman River. The watershed for the town drains an area of around 250 square kilometres making it the largest tributary of any river within southern Alberta. The Pincher Creek supports a large and vital ecosystem of several plants, animals and other aquatic life forms, meaning preserving this rich body of water is necessary to the town’s health.

Bustard says although this annual weed pull is important to the community, it can be hard to get members of the public to come out and join in.

“It’s tough to get people to come out, because you’re asking a lot of people to take a day out of their summer, and those are precious, but we have had a core group of landowners and volunteers come out each and every year.”