Being a resident of Draper, I often hike Draper’s Bonneville Shoreline Trail section in the spring when the cool green mountainside vibrates with the wind. Gambel oaks, Sandberg bluegrass, and other essential native plants uphold the green oasis.
But the lush landscape quickly spoils into a hazy, arid yellow-red with the start of summer. Summertime paints the mountainside dead with the expansive prickly, dry cheatgrass. The invasive grass dries the land and strangles native grasses to create a land ripe for forest fires which, aided by the dry summer wind, quickly devour large areas of land.
The weed first arrived in the 19th century and successfully infested the land as native plants were devastated by livestock grazing.
The first fire we watched consume the land near my home raged mere miles away from Point of the Mountain. The Gambel oaks of Draper faded to the peripheral as my eye focused onto the deep red fire marching down the mountain. Luckily we remained safe at home, even though many neighbors were forced to evacuate.
Utah in recent years has been plagued by wildfires. In 2018 over 1,300 fires burned nearly half a million acres and cost the state $20 million. Many of these fires have been directly linked to the expanse of cheatgrass.
Livestock ravages native grasses and allows cheatgrass to expand. The weed continues to infest the landscape and though efforts continue to allocate more funds to fight against cheatgrass, the state will continue to spend more and more on fighting fires if cows continue grazing away at the delicate land, thus allowing cheatgrass to invade.
Costly replanting initiatives are planned and will provide some help, but real change will only come if ranchers begin to choose alternative feeding methods like grain, over the continuation of extensive grazing.
Georgiy Polishchuk, Draper
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible