Photo: Porcelain Berry vine, Wikimedia Commons
Elizabeth Martin
English Ivy, Wikimedia Commons
The Virginia House of Delegates and Senate have approved two bills that can help deter the spread of invasive plants in Virginia and encourage use of native plants. The next step is to send the bills to the Governor for approval. The success of the bills so far is due to tireless efforts of two northern Virginia legislators, Delegate David Bulova (37th District) and Delegate Paul Krizek (44th District) and advocacy by conservation organizations and voters throughout Virginia. Thank you from ASNV and its members! Please take a few minutes to write each of them a personal thank you.
The Two Bills
Delegate Bulova’s HB 2096 requires the state agriculture board to develop a list of invasive plant species, and includes provisions to discourage their use. The bill directs the board to develop regulations requiring commercial designers and installers to notify property owners of proposed use of any plants on the state’s invasive plants list. Because plant retailers and customers often do not know which plants are invasives, the requirement to provide information allows customers to make better choices. The bill also prohibits state agencies from planting, selling, or propagating the plants except for scientific or educational purposes. It also authorizes the board to adopt regulations for permits to move, transport, deliver, ship, offer for shipment, sell, or offer for sale any invasive plant.
Delegate Krizek’s HB1998 directs state agencies to prioritize native plant species and to take steps to identify state properties for native plantings and prepare guidance to rehabilitate state properties degraded by invasive species. Because the state owns many large properties, such as universities and prisons, the bill would expand native plant habitat. It also provides the state the opportunity to set an example for responsible environmental stewardship by enhancing its properties’ habitats with native plants that serve Virginia wildlife.
So Why Is This Important?
Non-native plants were introduced into the United States intentionally or accidentally by people sometime after Europeans first arrived in North America. Many are important food crops or ornamental plants that do no harm. But many are harmful invasives, non-native plants that can spread out of control and overwhelm and displace native vegetation. They can spread dangerously because they have no natural predators in our ecosystem. Even if an invasive plant appears to be “under control” in a private yard, its seeds can spread and invade nearby parks and wildlife areas. Native plants co-evolved with local wildlife and provide the best food value to them. An area overrun with non-native invasives is a food desert for native wildlife that depends on native plants to survive.
Chickadees provide a good example of that dependence. Research shows that unless a yard is at least 70 percent native plant material, it cannot support even one family of chickadees. Chickadee nestlings depend on caterpillars to survive, and caterpillars eat very specialized native plant species. No native plants (or trees) means no caterpillars, and that means no birds. Our native wildlife is losing habitat not only to development but also to encroachment by invasive plants, and habitat loss is the largest cause of the decline of North American birds.
The annual cost of invasive plant species in the U.S. is estimated to be $35 billion. (Swearingen and Fulton, Plant Invaders of Mid-Atlantic Natural Areas, 2022, p. 10). Current Virginia law identifies only 14 plants on the state’s “noxious weeds list,” but the list of invasives recognized by the Department of Conservation and Recreation is much longer. Common invasive plants in Northern Virginia include English ivy, running bamboo, Bradford pear trees, tree-of-heaven, oriental bittersweet, privet, porcelain berry and stilt grass. Virginia law allows the sale of most of them, and they have invaded our parks and reserves. Change, like that called for in the Bulova and Krizek bills, is sorely needed.
What You Can Do
Here are the links to track the further progress of Delegate Krizek’s HB 1998 and Delegate Bullova’s HB 2096. If you’re interested in learning more about how to advocate for legislation to improve wildlife habitat and halt the decline in bird populations, contact the ASNV Advocacy Committee using this link]
There’s more information available about invasive species, the harm they do, and what you can do about them here. And if you’d like to tackle invasives in your own yard, request a visit here from an Audubon at Home Ambassador who can help you identify them, tell you how to remove them, and advise on native plants that will enhance the habitat value of your property.