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POLICY STATEMENT District of Maple Ridge Title: Integrated Pest Management Policy No : 4.18 Supersedes: NEW Authority: Council Approval: July 22, 2003 Effective Date: July 23, 2003 Policy
Statement: Pest control in Maple Ridge is regulated by relevant Federal and Provincial legislation dealing with pesticide use, and shall be conducted by the District staff in accordance
with the following principles of Integrated Pest Management: (a) Cultural and management practices which promote healthy populations of desired species shall be used for the purpose
of reducing the likelihood of pest species being able to thrive. (b) Populations of undesirable or harmful species shall be controlled only when the population of the pest reaches levels
which threaten host survival or impair usability of a facility to a degree which cannot be tolerated from the point of view of the greater public good and public health and safety.
(c) Alternatives to pesticides such as biological control shall be considered in all cases requiring pest control, and used, unless costs are prohibitive and/or probability of success
is judged to be unjustifiably low. (d) When the abundance and effects of a pest species become so severe that the use of chemical pesticides is deemed necessary the objective will be
to reduce the pest species to tolerable levels, NOT to eradicate it. (e) The agent of choice will be that substance which can be expected to achieve the desired effect at the lowest
rate of application, and which demonstrates the narrowest spectrum of toxic effect. The first choice will always be a chemical which most nearly satisfies the criteria of being non-persistent,
non-accumulative and target-specific. Purpose: This policy formalizes practices which have consistently been followed in the past, as Maple Ridge has long adhered to the principle of
reducing the introduction of pesticides to the environment to an absolute minimum, and when pesticide use was unavoidable has always used the least toxic and narrowest-spectrum materials
available. Central to the policy is the understanding that the presence and effects of pest species will be tolerated at population levels which do not threaten host survival or render
facilities unusable.
Definitions: Pest: Any species of plant or animal the presence of which causes effects detrimental to the objectives of the District and the parks and recreational facilities system.
Pesticide: Any material which kills pests. Cultural practices for pest control: those which favour the growth of desired plants while simultaneously creating conditions detrimental
to undesirable species: e.g., watering, fertilizing, aerating and frequent mowing create conditions under which turfgrass grows vigorously, while weeds such as plantain, dandelions,
etc. are unthrifty and tend to be dominated by the grasses. Management practices for pest control: include the creation of habitats unsuitable to pest species: e.g., removal of cover
such as rock piles or accumulations of wood or lumber in which rats or mice can shelter.