What is so bad that it wastes twice the water used by all of Southern California, and in a few days can pollute the air like half of Utah’s cars and trucks do for an entire year? Just two invasive plant species.
Invasive species of plants and critters are attacking our quality of life. Here’s just some of what they do:
- increase the number, severity and speed of wildfires
- choke out native vegetation
- waste precious water
- damage habitat
- poison livestock and wildlife
- increase risks of flooding
- kill whole forests
- degrade infrastructure such as water channels
- wreak economic havoc on the farmer and rancher[1]
One such species is cheatgrass. This opportunistic weed has taken over 60 million acres throughout the West and is especially prone to wildfires.[2] In 2007, a lightning strike near Milford, Utah, ignited a fire. Within hours, 350,000 acres (570 square miles) were burned and two motorists had lost their lives. The Milford Flat fire cost over $20 million in damages and remains the largest wildfire in Utah’s history. What’s more, the volume of PM 2.5 (a microscopic air pollutant devastating to human health) produced by the Milford Flat fire equaled the yearly emissions of over 1 million vehicles.[3] Utah’s juniper landscapes, which have historically burned an average of every 100 years are now at risk to burn as often as every two to three years, due to cheatgrass
Tamarisk (aka: Salt Cedar) is quite possibly the perfect enemy for water-poor states like Utah. A single tamarisk plant can consume over 200 gallons of water per day, equal to what a typical citizen of Utah uses daily. Collectively, tamarisk uses an estimated 4 million acre-feet of water per year. That’s nearly double the total water consumed by all of Southern California! What’s worse, with roots penetrating over 100 feet deep, these hardy plants cannot be effectively controlled through cutting, poisoning, or burning, and it’s estimated that they occupy 2 million acres throughout the west.[4] This insidious invader drops salt-ridden leaves, killing native grasses, and soon takes over entire river ways.
Quagga and zebra mussels decimate habitat for aquatic species and destroy water distribution systems, even choking off home sprinkling systems. Invasive mussels cost our nation billions of dollars annually.
So, why should you care?
If you like good air quality, you ought to worry about cheatgrass–fueled wildfires.
If you want to conserve water, be concerned about tamarisk and dyer’s woad.
If you are concerned about high taxes, you’ll want to keep quagga mussels out of our water systems.
Currently, Utah’s Department of Natural Resources is working with neighboring states and the federal government to inventory the problems, devise solutions, and inform the public. Our recent Agricultural Sustainability Task Force made controlling invasives one of its top priorities. Scientists have found some tools to combat these monsters. But we’re still way behind.
Invasives rarely generate dinner-time discussion. But we all have a real stake in turning back their pernicious spread. Visit InvasiveSpeciesInfo.Gov to learn more about the problems and what you can to do help.
See slideshow for photos
[1] Invasive noxious weeds have been described as a raging biological wildfire – out of control, spreading rapidly, and causing enormous economic losses. Millions of acres in North America have been invaded or are at risk of being invaded by weeds, including cropland, pastures, rangelands, forests, wilderness areas, national parks, recreation sites, wildlife management areas, transportation corridors, waterways, wetlands, parks, golf courses, even yards and gardens. Belliston, Nathan et al., “Noxious Weed Field Guide for Utah”, Utah State University, http://www.utahweed.org/PDF/FieldGuide_Ed4.pdf
[3] Utah Department of Agriculture and Food, http://ag.utah.gov/news/documents/CheatgrassPresentation.pdf
[4] Invasive Plants of Range and Wildlands and Their Environmental Economic and Societal Impacts, Celestine A. Duncan, citing Joseph Di Tomaso, 2005. Chapter 17, pp 211.
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