With the advent of spring, the UP crew is gearing up for another busy field season.  The crew has begun weeding and cleaning our study and production fields in Utah and Colorado.  Currently, we are working with 44 native species, of which 25 species are in the seed increase program and 36 are in cultural and/or life history studies.

In April at The Nature Conservancy fields near Nucla, CO, the crew planted a native grass mix on 30 acres of irrigated land that had been planted with fourwing saltbush in November, 2007.  The grass will help prevent the spread of noxious weeds between the rows. 

The UP Native Plant Program currently has 15 species ready to go to commercial growers: 1 shrub, 4 grasses and 10 forbs (see table below).

Plant Species Ready for Commercial Release

Scientific Name	Common Name	UP Name
Grasses
Bromus marginatus	Mountain brome	UP Red Canyon
Koeleria macrantha	Prairie junegrass	UP Sims Mesa
Poa fendleriana	Muttongrass	UP Sims
Poa secunda	Sandberg bluegrass	UP Plateau
Forbs
Achillea lanulosa	Western yarrow	UP Dry Fork
Erigeron pumilis	Low fleabane	UP Log Hill
Erigeron speciosis	Oregon fleabane	UP Dry Fork Highway
Eriogonum umbellatum	Sulfurflower buckwheat	UP Burn Canyon
Hedysarum boreale	Utah sweetvetch	UP Uncompahgre
Heterotheca villosa	Hairy goldenaster	UP Divide
Linum lewisii	Blue flax	UP Cactus Park
Penstemon cyanocaulis	Bluestem penstemon	UP San Miguel
Packera multilobata	Lobeleaf groundsel	UP Montrose
Sphraelcea coccinea	Scarlet globemallow	UP Paradox
Shrubs
Ephedra viridis	Green ephedra	UP Ute

In 2007, the UP provided Sandberg bluegrass (Poa secunda) to a private grower in Washington State. The Sandberg bluegrass grew excellently and the grower plans to plant 60 acres in August 2008 with the seed he has produced from his first planting. If successful, this acreage will produce around 12,000 lb of native seed.

Sandberg bluegrass in a private grower's field in April 2008  

Species Adaptability Studies

In Spring 2006, Species Adaptability Studies were initiated for 13 grass species at four locations in UT and CO. The studies compare 113 assesstions of these species - looking specifically at survivability, seed production and vigor of local populations compared to cultivars that are available on the commercial market.

This spring, the crew has begun weeding and performing the first evaluation of survival and production at the four study sites: Utah State University Nephi Farm, Utah; Coal Creek SWA, Dove Creek, CO; Sims Mesa, Uncompahgre Plateau, CO; and Transfer Rd. Uncompahgre Plateau, CO.  The study sites will be evaluated throughout the 2008 growing season.

Evaluation of grasses at Utah State University Nephi Farm, Utah in April 2008

Wildland Native Seed Mix Trials

In Fall 2007, the UP planted a suite of our native species in two settings near Fountain Green, UT - one natural wildland setting that experienced a wildfire and at the Fountain Green facility in the summer of 2007. This April, the crew performed the first evaluation at the two sites.  Throughout 2008, the plantings will be evaluated.

Seedlings emerge at the Big Hollow Burn site in Nephi Canyon, UT

FY2007 Annual Progress Report

The UP Native Plant Program FY2007 Progress Report is available for viewing and/or downloading. Please click here to view a Table of Contents.

To learn more about our Native Plant Program, click here.

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