Each year, the Logan Ranger District, the Bridgerland Audubon Society, the Utah Native Plant Society, the Cache Trails Alliance, the City of Logan, and Stokes Nature Center join forces to attack invasive weeds in the Logan Canyon area.
Marshall Alford, the Logan district ranger for the U.S. Forest Service, said it is a massive undertaking to address invasive species in the area and that requires consistent effort year after year to be successful. Despite this, community members attending the Logan Canyon Weed Day over the past six years have made strides in treating these aggressive weeds.
“Targeted treatments have helped restore native plant communities and enhance biodiversity and habitat quality for wildlife,” Alford said. “Additionally, the implementation of integrated pest management strategies has reduced the spread of invasive weeds and contributed to healthier and more resilient for forest ecosystems.”
This year, volunteers are needed to attack a “huge infestation” of myrtle spurge currently taking over Logan Canyon’s Highline Trail, said David Wallace, who works with the Utah Native Plant Society.
“It emits poisons into the soil to kill the native vegetation,” Wallace said. “Nothing will eat it. It’s toxic itself, it’s poisonous. Everyone who works on it has to wear gloves and long clothing and if they ever got it in their eyes, they would end up in the emergency room. It’s awful, awful stuff.”
Volunteers will also help reduce and eradicate other invasive weeds in the area, including dyers woad, burdock, houndstongue, and Scotch thistle. Control methods will include hand pulling, digging, and bagging. Wallace said anyone who is interested in improving the area’s environmental health is welcome to attend.
“I would say it’s very satisfying to dig up a weed and put it in a bag and get it hauled out,” Wallace said. “When you do this, you’ll know that you’re helping our environment. You’re really helping eliminate a toxic plant from our wild, natural areas.”
The event will take place this Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Volunteers should meet at the Canyon Entrance Park Pavilion at First Dam, and are encouraged to wear protective clothing, including gloves, long pants, long sleeved shirts, sturdy footwear, and bring drinking water. If possible, participants should bring heavy-duty weeding tools.
“We just hope to see a lot of people, as many as we can,” Wallace said. “We’ve got a lot of weeds to deal with now that we’ve discovered this infestation."
