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State restoration manager says Utah Lake Phragmites cover down about 88% as effort shifts to revegetation
Summary
Keith Hambrecht said the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands' multi-year Phragmites program has reduced cover about 88%, lowering estimated Phragmites cover to ~12% statewide; remaining challenges include access, landowner permissions and upstream seed sources, and a joint restoration coordinator position will be posted soon.
Keith Hambrecht, restoration program manager for State Sovereign Lands at the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, told listeners the agency's multi-year effort to control the invasive reed Phragmites on Utah Lake has sharply reduced infestations and is moving into a restoration phase. "We reached about 88% reduction," Hambrecht said, adding the program's current estimate of Phragmites cover on Utah Lake is roughly 12%, close to the stated program goal of 10% cover.
Hambrecht framed the work in a broader regional context, showing how Phragmites rapidly colonized Farmington Bay on the Great Salt Lake over a few years. He said that example underscores how quickly shoreline wetlands can fill in without sustained control and helps explain why the program emphasizes both removal and…
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