Bear River Land Conservancy does conservation easements for willing landowners, which means they buy the development rights of a property.
“What that allows us to do is kind of protect development in the future. The conservation values that are protected by the property, whether they be wildlife habitat or whether they be open space agriculture,” said Gabriel Murray, executive director for the Bear River Land Conservancy.
Murray said because they buy the development rights it allows them a bit of land management.
“As part of that management, we work to kind of remove weeds and make sure that we have native species that are there that are supporting those wildlife and that habitat. On Saturday we’re going to be heading out there with volunteers and just trying to remove the Dyer’s Woad, which is the first weed to pop up early in the year,” said Murray.
According to the conservancy, this invasive plant is now in full bloom and can harm the land’s biodiversity. It can grow up to 1 to 3 feet and can be toxic to mammals, but most livestock and wildlife do not readily graze on this weed. It arrived in America in the late 17th century, and can be used as a source for blue dye.
The property they will be working on is about 455 acres so in order to track down Dyer’s Woad, they do what is called “mapping.”
“We put together what is known as a weed management plan. We kind of know of the timing where we’ve treated in the past, where we intend to treat in the year. That kind of helps guide us as to where we’ll be managing weed in any given year,” said Murray.
Volunteers, with gloves in hand, will meet at Bear River Bottoms at 9:00 a.m. on Saturday. Boots, full-length clothing, a sun hat, and water are also recommended.
