Poison ivy at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park a growing problem

A problem with poison ivy at Cedar Dunes Provincial Park in western P.E.I. continues to grow.

P.E.I. tourism officials have been treating the poison ivy at the park for five to six years.

• Poison ivy a growing concern at Cedar Dunes park

It is such a strong, strong weed that grows so fast.- Shane Arbing

They say each spring before the park opens,a licensed operator goes into the campground and treats the area.

Parks officials say initially it appeared they had made some headway but in the last two seasons there has been an increase in the spread of the plant.

Poison ivy is a very hard plant to contain or eradicate.

A big job

Provincial parks managerShane Arbing saidit is a concern to visitors and staff andwill likely require more aggressive measures.

"We are going to work with the Department of Environment to see exactly what we can do," said Arbing.

"We believe it will be a manual task, basically goin and pullit out and ripit out by the root. It is such a strong, strong weed that grows so fast that seems to be the only way they can actually do it."

Arbing said it will be a big job.

"There are an awful lot of plants. It has encroached in a lot of area there now," he said.

Arbing expects the work will begin this fall but will take a couple of years to complete.

In the meantime there are a number of signs posted in the area alerting visitors.

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