PROVO, Utah (AP) — Officials are trying new techniques to get rid of an invasive plant species called phragmites from the shores of Utah Lake, such as spraying herbicides and smashing the plants instead of burning them.
The Daily Herald in Provo reports a new program is also being piloted this summer, in which cows will be fenced into acres of phragmite growth in order to graze it down.
While it doesn’t completely eradicate the weeds, it does allow for native plants to come back in its place. Utah Lake Commission Executive Director Eric Ellis says it’s also full of protein, and good for the cows.
Ellis says the tall, perennial grass typically grows in dense thickets that displace native plants, greedily intake water from the lake and take over shorelines that become inaccessible to humans.
