By JOHN GAMBEE
Aliens have invaded Rock Canyon and the natives are under siege.
The Utah County branch of the Native Plant Society, in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service, has answered the call to restore several exiled plants to their native country in the canyon, said senior Rachel Broadbent, a 27-year-old from Payson majoring in horticulture.
Don Morgan, a professor of physical geography in BYU’s geography department, said the climate along Provo’s benches is perfect for a variety of grasses. As humans and other species travel through an area, they bring exotic or alien species with them, Morgan said.
“If it’s a strong plant, it can come in and literally eliminate the natives,” Morgan said.
Morgan also mentioned how development and human traffic often destroy native plant areas.
“As the pioneers settled and orchards were planted, the native grasses were uprooted,” Morgan said.
Native seeds, collected in Rock Canyon and other sites along the Wasatch Front and nurtured in Provo labs throughout the winter, have grown into seedlings and are prepared for re-entry into the canyon, according to the society’s newsletter.
On March 4, volunteers will be planting these seedlings in the area around the trailhead at the base of the canyon, Broadbent said.
Broadbent, who acts as a volunteer recruiter for the Rock Canyon Project, said many volunteers are needed for the project on the fourth and for other projects throughout the summer.
The first planting will be divided into two three-hour shifts. Eighty volunteers are needed for each shift, Broadbent said.
“We need many volunteers. Especially people who are not afraid to run a jackhammer,” Broadbent said.
An electronic chipping hammer will be used to dig the holes because the ground is so rocky and hard, according to the newsletter.
Last fall the alien plants in the area were uprooted and sprayed in preparation for the restoration of the native species this spring, Broadbent said.
The native species include blue wildrye, squirreltail, sagebrush and rabbitbrush. The aliens being exiled consist primarily of jointed goat grass, according to the newsletter.
Morgan said that if the uprooted aliens propagated through carriers and seeds, the restoration of native plants to the area had a good chance of being successful. However, if the species were promulgated through roots, they would probably come back.
Getting rid of species that spread through roots is like trying to get rid of crabgrass or devil grass in a lawn, Morgan said.
Broadbent said 8,000 seedlings are ready to be planted in Rock Canyon and that the project will continue until all the natives are in place.
“We will be planting 600 seedlings next week and then more throughout the summer,” Broadbent said.
While the society would like the area to resemble pre-settlement times, they are not trying to eliminate hiking and foot traffic in the area, Broadbent said.
“Hopefully, we will be replacing the lacework of trails with a few main ones,” Broadbent said.
Morgan confirmed that the area had become a web of trails.
The Uinta National Forest Service contributed $7,500 to the project to fund the growing and planting of the seedlings, the society’s newsletter said.
