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Rendering

Moab USFS Office Water-wise Landscape Plan and Installation 

Project Lead: Jake Powell

Fast Facts


  • Year: 2019
  • Client: United States Forest Service – Moab
  • Outcomes: Water wise Landscape and Planting Plan, Landscape Installation Consultation
  • Status: Complete
  • Project Size: 0.15 acres
  • Project Scale: Site
  • Impacts: The landscape has saved an estimated 100,000 gallons of water in the past year. Upon completion in 2019, the project was recognized by Moab City and awarded the city’s “Green to Gold” award. The project is a tangible vision of functional and aesthetically pleasing water wise landscape design. The informational signage being developed and installed at the site will share the project intent and details with visitors from all over the world to the site. The original intent was to re-landscape only half of the turf areas, however, after LAEP Extension’s donated design services allowed the $12,000 grant from the USFS to complete the entire landscape in front of the building.

Project Summary 

USU LAEP Extension provided design assistance to transform a simple, monoculture of thirsty turf into a water-wise, and ecologically rich landscape that now help welcome the world to the recreational amenities of Moab, Utah. This landscape showcases native and drought tolerant plants and turf, fire-wise landscape principles, utilizes storm water inputs, saves an estimated 100,000 gallons per year and was awarded Moab City’s “Green to Gold” award for sustainability.

Project Description

LAEP Extension partnered with the Moab, Utah U.S Forest Service (USFS) staff to leverage a small USFS facilities improvement grant to transform the front of their contact station and staff office into a water-wise and fire-wise demonstration area. This office is located in the center of the gateway community of Moab, Utah and acts as the primary contact point for residents and visitors looking for local and regional recreation information.

This project became a unique opportunity to showcase water wise landscape design to a local, state, and international audience. Before LAEP Extension got involved the area that was re-designed was approximately 95% turf and was using an estimated average of 10,000 gallons of culinary irrigation water per month to keep the landscape alive in this hot, arid climate. LAEP Extension staff worked with USFS staff to refine conceptual ideas into a final plan that balanced the continued need for some shaded, grassy areas for sitting and socializing with the need to minimizing water use and better capture and manage the rainwater falling on the site. LAEP Extension staff spent over a week helping a team of volunteers and USFS employees remove the old landscape, retrofit the irrigation system, and install a new landscape. The new water-wise and fire-wise landscape provides multiple new layers of ecological habitat structure, conforms to USU Moab Extension’s “Bee Inspired Garden” program, and can capture excess storm water from the street to provide rainwater to its street trees and median plants.