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Utah Lake Authority podcast outlines invasive-plant removal progress and revegetation efforts
Summary
Hosts Sam and Savannah of the Utah Lake Authority describe the three main invasive plants at Utah Lake (phragmites, Russian olive, tamarisk), summarize multi-agency removal work begun in 2011, and outline recent revegetation projects and volunteer opportunities.
Sam, moderator with the Utah Lake Authority, and Savannah, the Authority’s conservation technician for the summer, used the Authority’s podcast to explain current work to remove invasive vegetation from Utah Lake and reintroduce native wetland plants.
Savannah told listeners the lake’s three main invasives are "phragmites, Russian olive, and tamarisk," and she described how dense stands of those species have replaced native wetlands and made shoreline access difficult. She said removal began in 2011 and is led by a long-running partnership among the Utah Lake Authority, the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands, and Utah County, with funding largely coming from the Division of Wildlife Resources’ Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI) and participating agencies’ budgets.
The hosts discussed both removal techniques and follow-up revegetation. Savannah described phragmites treatment (aquatic herbicide followed by fall mowing and repeat cycles) and stump-treatment for tree invasives. She highlighted recent projects — broadcast seeding at Mill Race, 50,000 plugs and 44 wetland sod mats at Swede Lane, and 12,000 pollinator plugs planted in the state park — and urged listeners to join upcoming volunteer planting events.
The episode ends with practical guidance for residents: consider native species and xeriscaping in home landscaping to reduce water use and avoid introducing ornamental plants that can become invasive.
