Completion Form

2022

Aerial application of glyphosate was completed by Hammond Helicopter.  Aerial application included maintenance spot spraying at Farmington Bay, Howard Slough, Ogden Bay, Harold Crane waterfowl management areas (WMA's) and the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Treatments consisted of >90% Phragmites and <10% cattail.

Follow up applications (2nd & 3rd year applications), and maintenance applications (4th year or beyond) of herbicide for Phragmites control was accomplished using track machine mounted sprayers, airboat mounted sprayers, and by ATV mounted sprayers. All ground applications were implemented by DWR Northern Region waterfowl staff, other DWR staff, and volunteers. FFSL aerial spraying, ground spraying, and mowing and trampling was contracted out. FFSL seeding was completed using DWR Marsh Masters.

To help remove and accelerate decomposition of dead Phragmites biomass UDWR personnel mowed various locations at Farmington Bay, Howard Slough, and Ogden Bay in March and April of 2022.  These vegetation manipulations will encourage growth from competitive desirable species and allow for easier access for follow up treatment of any surviving Phragmites stems/plants with ground application equipment the following year. Contracted mowing on the Willard Spur WMA was completed by PMG Vegetation Control in September of 2021. Three different prescribed burns also took place in the spring of 2022. One at Salt Creek WMA and two at Ogden Bay WMA. Fire is used when possible as it is a much less expensive way to remove standing dead Phragmites and increase native vegetation.

Grazing was also implemented on Farmington Bay, Howard Slough, Ogden Bay, and Harold Crane WMA's. Over 5,000 acres was grazed. Cattle are used in areas that typically dry out before herbicide application can be implemented in August. Since spraying drought stressed plants does not work, cattle are great tools to remove this years growth, open areas up for bird use and hunter access, and to help reduce Phragmites seed production. Cattle are also used in areas that have completed the 3 year treatment cycle in order to maintain current vegetation conditions.

Cache and Box Elder Counties used a combination of aerial and ground herbicide applications to complete treatments in their respective counties.

This funding allowed for the purchase of herbicide, contract for aerial application and vegetation removal, maintenance of all equipment, monitoring of revegetation techniques (through Utah State University), and purchase of necessary supplies to control Phragmites australis and other invasive weeds on Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR), Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands (FFSL), the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge (BRMBR), Box Elder County, and Cache County, wetland areas.

Phragmites was the primary target species scheduled for treatment; however other invasive weeds were controlled during this effort. These include, but are not limited to, Perennial Pepperweed (Lepidium latifolium), Dyers Woad (Isatis tinctoria), Hoary Cress (Cardaria spp.), thistle species (Cirsium spp.), Waterhemlock (Cicuta maculata), Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima), and Cattail, (Typha spp.).  Cattail and phragmites was treated in the period between August 1 and September 30, and the other noxious weed species were treated from mid-April to June 10.

Aerial application consisted of 1,720 acres of Phragmites treatment on DWR WMA's, and 1,920 acres on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge. Ground herbicide applications by DWR personnel consisted of 3,661 acres of Phragmites treatment across all WMA's. Box Elder and Cache Counties treated approximately 300 acres combined.

In order to remove standing dead Phragmites, three burns were completed at Salt Creek (600 acres) and Ogden Bay WMA's (542 acres) in coordination with FFSL. Mowing of dead Phragmites was completed by DWR personnel (220 acres) and contractors (435 acres).

FFSL contracted 3,532 acres of aerial spraying, 1,895 acres of mowing, 117 acres of trampling, and 112 acres of ground spraying. FFSL spent $125,610 on herbicide and $217,233.80 on mowing and trampling. Invoices for these matching funds are attached on the documents tab.

USU Research Narrative: "Our objective was to evaluate different native seed mix densities and microtopography to maximize native plant community cover and limit Phragmites reinvasion.  We found that sowing native seeds, particularly at five times the common seeding rate managers historically have used, resulted in a substantially greater cover of native plants and reduced Phragmites cover compared with unseeded areas.  Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata), a native grass, performed particularly well in the seed mixes and shows great promise for future seeding efforts.  Regardless of seeding, Phragmites still returned in many areas underscoring the need for follow-up control.  In another experiment looking specifically at microtopography, we found that discing to create artificial microtopography initially benefitted alkali bulrush germination but the effect was short-lived, likely due to the extreme drought experienced in all wetlands in 2021.  We will continue to explore the benefits of discing for microtopography in future years." Seeding projects and monitoring took place outside of Teal Lake and Turpin at Farmington Bay WMA.

Three large water control structures, including 60' of HDPE pipe was purchased using these funds. The structures have not been put in place, but the Waterfowl Maintenance Crew will be putting these in this fall. The structures will allow for better water control within the Turpin and Doug Miller Units, which is imperative for successful Phragmites control. These will also allow for better water control outside of these units where FFSL will be treating in the next year or two.

With the exception of the Willard Spur WMA (treatments started by FFSL a couple years ago), and a few other small units at each WMA (treatments failed due to loss of water control), we are now in more of a maintenance mode, treating patches of Phragmites throughout the whole WMA. Other management techniques such as grazing, and summer drawdowns (drought stressing Phragmites) will be used following the third or fourth year of treatment to aid in control efforts. Grazing will also continue to be used in areas where water control is inconsistent and is therefore the better option over herbicide treatments. As the Great Salt Lake continues to recede, barren mudflats increases the likelihood of Phragmites germination and expansion. Efforts are underway to coordinate treatments and funding with FFSL and other potential partners such as the Sewer Districts. Coordination with Universities and researchers will continue to insure best management practices are implemented. We are currently working with USU on hydroseeding and re-vegetation techniques in order to establish more desirable wetland species following Phragmites control efforts. 
Coordination and dissemination of information about Phragmites control continues to be an integral part of this project. Information pertaining to best management practices for NGO's, private landowners, and other government agencies will continue to be presented.

Chad Cranney

08/31/2022 16:39:31