By Joanne Sales
For the PQB News
“Have you seen the broom on Alberni Highway? It’s the worst!”
Most conversations about Scotch broom infestations eventually get around to the huge fields of Scotch broom on the Alberni Highway near the Coombs exit from the Inland Island Highway. It’s 80 acres of mature broom. How did that happen?
In 2019, second-growth forest on the 80 acres was cut down, leaving bare soil. Within two years, Scotch broom was knee-high across most of the acreage. By 2023, some of it was six feet tall.
Good news: the property was sold in April to a group of investors who have already started the long process of clearing the broom.
How did the broom spread so quickly? Broom seeds are viable in the soil for up to 70 years. Most likely, some seeds had already spread on these 80 acres. When the forest was cut down, the seeds were exposed to the sun and sprouted all at once.
It will take a long time to clear all that broom, especially since wildfire season is here and the cut branches cannot be burned. But the new owners have started. Broombusters volunteers cut some of the broom along the roadside, so people can watch the broom disappear.
Scotch broom is highly flammable, with naturally occurring dry branches. The removal of the broom from these 80 acres will be positive step towards fire mitigation for all local communities. Broombusters hopes that next spring the broom can be removed from adjacent powerlines and highways near this highway interchange. FireSmart places broom in the highest risk category of fire hazards.
For more info, visit www.broombusters.org or www.firesmartbc.ca.
READ MORE: Broombusters founder Joanne Sales making a difference in PQB community
