Leafy spurge is a highly invasive plant species that thrives in many different conditions and situations. It is particularly invasive in native pastures and wild lands. It is also spread along roads, railways and utility lines. In 1999 the Leafy Spurge Stakeholders Group, a broad coalition of agricultural and conservation groups and the three levels of government, undertook a collaborative project to assess the economic impact of leafy spurge in Manitoba. The outcome of the project was the Leafy Spurge Economic Impact Assessment – Manitoba 1999. At the time, the assessment found that (a) the net economic impacts associated was approaching $20 million based on the direct and indirect losses of the reduced livestock grazing capacity of approximately 340,000 acres of infested grazing land and the estimated control costs for rights-of-way.