Not to be over-shadowed by our last announcement, we are also excited to share that we have received $34,200 in grants from the Utah Department of Agriculture and Food for invasive weed management along the river.
$16,000 of this will focus specifically on the management of puncturevine (aka goatheads) on the trail between 2300 South and 3300 South. The grant includes funding for the purchase of:
- Volunteer supplies to support the Jordan River Commission’s ongoing volunteer weed pulls,
- Herbicides to spray areas of severe infestations,
- Hiring of a Utah Conservation Corps field crew for chemical application and manual weed removal,
- Native grass seed for revegetation of cleared areas, and
- An experimental treatment of puncturevine weavel biocontrol
Biocontrol is a weed management approach where insects that eat the targeted weed are used to reduce the weed cover. All approved biocontrol species have been extensively tested in quarantine facilities on native plants, endangered plants, and any other plants related to or found in similar environments as the target weed. If a biocontrol lives on other plants, it is not approved for release. There are two species of puncturevine weavels – one that survives on the stem of the plant, and one that burrows into the green seeds. The weavels are not regularly used in Northern Utah, as they cannot survive the winter freezing conditions. However, this grant will help determine the effectiveness of the biocontrol as a seasonal approach to managing the weed. Learn more about puncturevine and its biocontrol here: www.goatheads.com.
While this grant is a great start, much more work will be needed over the coming years to effectively eliminate puncturevine from the Jordan River Parkway Trail. The Jordan River Commission is always looking for volunteers, and there are four more clean-ups scheduled this summer that are open to the public. Learn more here: www.jordanrivercommission.org/volunteer.
