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business elite canada
H
APRIL 2016
prescribed fires are used to manage inva-
sive plant species, which can degrade the
health of ecosystems.
“In Ontario Parks, they’re a concern be-
cause some of these invasive species can
really impact the ecosystems and values
that the parks are set up to protect,” Stein-
berg said.
Additionally, the province suffers from
economic loss due to invasive species. In-
vasive fish species can impact both com-
mercial and recreational fisheries by com-
peting with native fish species for food
and habitat, driving down populations. In
the Great Lakes area, zebra mussels pose
a particular problem — they impact intake
pipes for businesses and hinder recre-
ational activities. Forest productivity can
also be altered by invasive plant species,
and invasive insects that kill trees (like the
Emerald Ash Borer beetle) can cost cities
and towns millions of dollars to remove
dead and hazardous trees. The story here
does not have a good ending without hu-
