Weed It and Reap: How Swaner Tackles Invasive Plants

Weed season is here in Park City! In addition to seeing weeds, you may be hearing terms like noxious, invasive, weedy, native, and non-native- what do they all mean? Weeds are unwanted plants. What qualifies any plant as a “weed” changes with context and situation. On a farm, a weed may be any plant except the intended crop. Something you consider a weed in your garden or lawn may be a welcome sight in the middle of the Swaner Preserve. We love to see western yarrow (a native bloom) on the preserve, but it does spread in and can be considered weedy in a home garden.

When we talk about weed management at Swaner Preserve we are usually referring to invasive or noxious weeds.  Many weeds fall into both categories of noxious and invasive, you'll often hear these terms used interchangeably. Invasive weeds have mechanisms that allow them to out-compete other plants, blocking native plant growth, spreading aggressively, and limiting biodiversity. Noxious weeds are invasive weeds that have been listed by the Department of Agriculture and Food as a threat to economy, agriculture, recreation, wildlife, or health and safety. There are different classes of noxious weeds and depending on the classification landowners are legally required to mitigate noxious weeds on their property. You can learn about Utah’s noxious weeds with USU’s Noxious Weed Field Guide for Utah. Additionally, check out Summit CWMA’s list of Summit County’s noxious weeds and classifications.

So why do we need to control noxious weeds? Native plants are plants that have historically presided in a certain area and occur naturally, they are essential to ecosystem heath and function. Removing invasive weeds protects native plant populations that are pillars of ecosystem health and function. Native plants have natural barriers to growth, while some may have weedy or fast-growing tendencies there are mechanisms that keep populations in check. Animals will recognize and eat them, they compete with other plants for space, or insects and fungi limit growth. Non-native plants are introduced from another area, intentionally or unintentionally, and can become invasive. However, not all non-native plants will become invasive. Many introduced non-native plants will not survive outside the ideal conditions of your garden or yard. Non-native plants can become naturalized, meaning over time they are ubiquitous, but act like a native plant. Animals recognize them to eat, insects will utilize them, and they do not aggressively outcompete other plants for space, but rather, coexist with native plants and wildlife.

How does Swaner deal with weeds? By using integrated weed management with tools like physical removal, biocontrols, seeding native plants, planting native species, targeted herbicide, and restoration projects, we can create more ideal conditions for native plants to thrive. The most prolific noxious weeds we see at Swaner are Hoary Cress, Dyers Woad, Garlic Mustard, Spotted Knapweed, Black Henbane, Houndstongue, Musk Thistle, Canada Thistle, and Scotch Thistle.

Want to learn about what noxious weeds live in Park City or help out? Join the experts at Summit County Weed Division for a variety of events each season. Volunteer with Swaner Preserve’s conservation team for weekly weed pull events every Wednesday morning from 8:30am to 10:30am, sign up here. Join Summit CWMA for Garlic Mustard Games, form a team or join solo and compete to pull the most garlic mustard in Summit County, check out their website for noxious weed info, community programs, upcoming events and more.

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Wanted: Invasive Weeds

It's weed season, Park City! Help our native ecosystem by tackling invasive weeds in your area, or joining in one of Swaner's upcoming volunteer events!

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