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Show Volume XII THE Issue IX OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Page 3 June 1, 2005 UDOT Using Goats, Not Chemicals, to Guest Commentary Control Noxious Weeds on Nature Preserve I feel compelled to write you by means of this editorial page regarding a situation that will soon be critical.. . again. As I drive around the Valley, through the: canyon, and over the divide, I, unfortunately, see an overwhelming amount of dyer’s woad in full flower. It is late spring and these plants will soon be ready to release and scatter their black seeds, continuing to propagate themselves all over the Valley and beyo It has been two years since I ie addressed this problem in this column. At that time, all of you were very cooperative and helpful, and it seemed that we had almost eradicated the yellow pest from our Valley. However, in the interim perhaps we have become complacent and haven’t watched to see that it was coming back because it has! There was a recent small article in this paper regarding dyer’s woad that explained the necessity of dealing with this noxious weed and explaining how if we don’t deal with it now—and I mean RIGHT NOW—we will definitely have to deal with a lot more of it later making its removal even more difficult. The article stated that the only sure method of eradication was to pull up the tap root so the plant cannot grow back. Cutting it low near the ground will stop the immediate spread but it will not kill the plant, and it will keep on growing back to plague us all. Now is the time to pull out the plant by the root. The ground is still slightly moist from all the rainfall which makes pulling up anything by its roots much easier. But the sun is drying the ground daily. If we wait another week, perhaps less, the ground will harden until it is like concrete. At that point it will be almost impossible to pull it out of the ground; it is much easier to tackle it right now. Our pasture was almost totally devoid of dyers woad this past summer, but now and I are again pulling the weeds out as they appear, which is easier than waiting until we have a whole field full. Eradicating dyer’s woad is definitely a joint effort; we all must work together to rid our Valley of this pest. I have read, and have been told as well, that it takes at least three years of concerted effort to sufficiently discourage this weed from coming back. The situation is that if most of us remove it from our propertiesand there is one neglected stand allowed to continue to grow and drop seeds, all of our prior efforts become futile. Even if you don’t have it on your land right now, you soon will. So, if your neighbor has it, please prevail upon him/her to get to work on removing it, or we all suffer. Should your neighbors be elderly or infirm, there are Boy Scout troops and church youth groups just looking for a humanitarian project to complete. I see the dyer’s woad on the property surrounding the Eden Post Office, along Highway 162, on all kinds of private lots and lawns, so please be diligent in reminding your neighbors. A few of us can’t do it alone. And it isn’t as though it is harmless. It robs other desirable plants of moisture and nutrients so that eventually it crowds them out. 0 . ' Toalled tl County offices mentioning the fact that this weed was all over the shoulders of the public roadways. I said I was surprised that the County did not have road crews out spraying or clearing it since the County has said that if we, the citizens, do not eradicate it from our properties we could be cited and fined; that is the law. I was told, “The County does not have the necessary funds or manpower to devote to this problem.” So I ask you, the taxpayer, what point is there in our giving this our full effort ifthe County leaves its part undone and therefore the weed continues to propagate? Yet, if we don’t take measures to rid our property of it, we can be cited and fined. The answer lies in us. If we call our County Commissioners (399-8401) and, yes, bug them enough, and frequently, they will have to do something about it—the “Power of the People.” If we are relentless and don’t quit, we can accomplish our goal. Meantime, we have to roll up our sleeves and keep pulling or spraying this abominable yellow weed. Diana Schraedel, Liberty localglow brighten your wardrobe at umé with unique, one of a kind clothing, jewelry, bags, and gifts produced by local Utah artists. 2 WARRIORS 4. flowering portions of the invasive weeds, largely ignoring the native plants growing in the area. The animals crush about 99 percent of the seeds as they chew; as a result the a aren't spread through the digestive z Liberty Resident Urges Community and County Leaders to Do Their Part UDOT is employing the services of a herd of more than 750 goats in its effort to control invasive and noxious weeds on the Legacy Nature Preserve. While the Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement process continues for the Legacy Parkway project, UDOT officials are moving ahead with work in the 2,098-acre Legacy Nature Preserve. Part of that work requires the control of noxious weeds in the Preserve—a task that usually includes the use of chemical weed-killers. Instead, UDOT is using a herd of goats to eliminate vast quantities of these weeds. The goats specifically target and eat the Thehe a egacy Nature Preserve is an unprecedented mitigation effort focused on enhancing, restoring, and preserving the diverse wildlife habitat of the Great Salt Lake. Once the ‘Legacy Parkway and they sive development Great Salt Lake. iIntu- along the eastern shore of the cont. from page 1. rare. Our Valley is blessed with much open space. Open space promotes healthy habitat for plants, animals, and people. Urban Interface. As homes are built closer and closer to National Forest Land, the threat of fire becomes extremely great. Planners and residents need to take this threat seriously. Dennis Shaw explained that the purpose of the field trip was to learn about plants and animals along the way, to gain a respect for the environment, and to feel the reward of performing a community service. He reminded students of who has the right-of-way on trails. All travelers defer to horses. Bicyclists and motorized give way topedest ians. And then. . . the students were off! They Students pull and bag dyer s woad. filled bags with garbage and picked mounds and mounds of Dyer’s Woad. On Wednesday, three students in Mrs. Hogge’s class picked more than 2000 weeds on their hike. Hats off to Tyson Chambers, Nathan Palmer, and Taylor Bradley. Almost everyone picked at least 100 plants; true Woad Warriors every one! Gardening in Ogden Valley Laurie Van Zandt, The Ardent Gardener Today’s nurseries carry countless varieties of plants and their cultivars. The shear number of options can be overwhelming. Some plant tags rtant planting, and climate information though many do not. The Ogden Valley is generally considered a zone three/four; that is, Virtually all I pl ill thrive | and even a selection of zone fours in certain microclimates. Some of my favorite perennials for use in the Valley, both for their long bloom time and relative low water usage, include columbine native Rocky Mountain moonbeam threadleaf coreopsis, dianthus (especially the deltoides variety), old fashioned bleeding hearts, both white and purple coneflower or echinacea, sea holly, a wonderful assortment of blanket flowers, various cranesbill geraniums (especially Johnson’s blue and purple pillow), baby’s breath (both creeping and upright), a huge assortment of daylilies (look for ones that indicate that they are “repeat bloomers.” | especially like happy returns in pale yellow and pardon me in cranberry red), Siberian, Arctic and Japanese irises, a wide assortment of coral bells, gayfeather, shasta daisies, iceland and oriental poppies, Rocky Mountain and husker red penstemons, Russian sage, blue salvia, and pincushion flowers (especially the long blooming variety). Useful groundcovers include: snow in summer, elfin and red creeping thyme, mosses, and sweet woodruff. Favorite ornamental grasses to use in the Valley are Karl Foerster feather reed grass, blue fescue, tufted hair grass, and little blue stem. I have had good luck with all of the plants listed above and would recommend them as additions to your garden. (Please note: an article printed in the May 15,2005 edition of The OGDEN VALLEY NEWS titled “The Benefits of Gardening” was also contributed by Ardent Gardener Laurie Van Zandt.) women's fine clothing & unique accessories 186 historic 25th @ st. ogden, ut & 801.39.dream now open until 7 pm # thursdays & fridays # www.umedesigns.com OGDEN VALLEY LAWN CARE | Mowing Free & Estimates 745-0494 801-644-8511 Trimming Reliable Local Service Kyle Goodwin * Worth Petersen * Marcy Petersen oy A Change of Face Skin Care and Bodyworks A new face A new place for you for us JOIN THE CELEBRATION! What GRAND OPENING When: Wednesday, June Where: 2595 N. 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