
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Volunteers have been hard at work restoring native plant species all over the western slope. The Monument Stewards program, a collaborative effort led by Colorado West Land Trust and the City of Grand Junction, took to the popular hike-and-bike Lunch Loop trailhead this Wednesday to harvest seeds from native plants. Their goal is simple: remove invasive species and replace them with native ones.
“The idea is that we engage youth programming as well as adult volunteers in planting these. Our weekly volunteer program works to maintain these plants,” says Libby Collins, Senior Regional Program Manager at Colorado West Land Trust.
“The restoration process started with Bookcliff Middle School students planting about 20 native plants in an area right around here at the Lunch Loop trailhead. Eureka Science kids then followed that with another 20 plants.”
Plant seeds at the trailhead include spike dropseed grass, rabbit brush, four-wing saltbush and even good old-fashioned sagebrush. After that, they’re sent off to city horticulture staff to grow before being planted right back where they belong.
However, removing the invasive species that already occupy the area is easier said than done.
“Removing all invasive species is a big project, probably beyond our abilities; we work primarily right along the paved trail,” adds Collins. “We also do willow pole plantings in No Thoroughfare wash — in the lower part of the wash — where there’s more water. That gives us a scope of work that volunteers can feel like we’re not overwhelmed by all the invasive species.”
The West Land Trust isn’t the only nonprofit in the plant game right now. Seven different programs are working both in tandem and separately to keep the Grand Valley grand!
Morgan Rossway, Volunteer and Outreach Coordinator at Colorado Canyon Association, explains how their role fits into the larger picture.
“We work in those national conservation areas,” says Rossway. “If we do native seed planting or things like that, it’s really to preserve the integrity of the resource over time rather than trying to urbanize it or make it really scenic. It’s more just to get it back to the way it was naturally.”
For more information or to get involved yourself, visit the West Slope Volunteers website. Happy planting!
By Dale Brazelton Read the full article here.
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2024