Weeds range in definiton from plants that interfere with land management objectives to plants that man has not yet found a use for. It is clear, no matter what definition is used, that weeds have negative environmental, economic and aesthetic implications for humans and the natural resources they manage.

View the video clips in the resources section to see more about the impacts of weeds in BC.

• Clog waterways used for swimming and boating
• Reduce visibility on transportation corridors
• Act as carriers of disease and insects of beneficial plants
• Destroy recreational opportunities and the beauty of the landscape
• Increase costs for maintaining resources and public utilities
• Decrease the value of marketable livestock

• Kill native grasses and wildflowers including rare and endangered species
• Destroy natural habitat for wildlife, birds, and domestic animals
• Reduce yield and quality of agricultural crops
• Interfere with regeneration of forests
• Increase wildfire hazard Increase soil erosion and stream sedimentation

• Ruin water quality
• Destroy habitat for fish and other aquatic organisms
• Decrease land values
• Endanger public health and safety
• Are potentially toxic to humans, pets, livestock, and wildlife
• Increase allergies and hay fever