Sahara mustard putting southern Utah at greater fire risk
All the snow and rain precipitation we have enjoyed during the winter and early spring has been wonderful for our water needs but has also resulted in a tremendous weed problem this year. It’s contingent upon all of us to work to control the weeds in our yards, not only for our own benefit but for the benefit of our neighbors and our public lands.
At the February Red Cliffs Desert Reserve/NCA Habitat Conservation Advisory Committee meeting, reserve administrator Cameron Rognan noted that reserve personnel are seeing a lot of weeds in the reserve/NCA, and it does not bode well for the summer’s fire season. Back in 2005, another time when our area received lots of moisture, wildfires ravaged our reserve, severely reducing our tortoise population. With the Mojave desert tortoise already a threatened species, we don’t need it becoming endangered.
Recently, Kristen Comella, Snow Canyon State Park manager, put out a call for volunteers to help clean up weeds at Pioneer Park with the Friends of Snow Canyon. This cleanup was part of a larger effort among the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, DSU, the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, St. George City, and other reserve managers. Kristen explained there’s been an explosion of non-native Sahara mustard (Brassica tournefortii Gouan) this year. Although the focus was the Pioneer Park area, this same non-native plant is abundant in the Reserve/NCA and many other areas in our county. The plant competes with native plants, creates a fire hazard, and can be toxic to our desert tortoises.
A University of Nevada fact sheet explains that “Sahara mustard is native to North Africa, the Middle East, and Mediterranean lands of southern Europe. It’s now found in Southern Nevada, southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, and west Texas.”
Apparently, now it’s also in our area of Utah.
Sahara mustard is particularly threatening because it does not require soil disturbance to be invasive and may often force other native plants out. The plant is very aggressive, so preventing establishment of the weed is important. Existing plants should be removed by manual pulling prior to its going to seed. The plant has a basal rosette of leaves that can grow up to three feet in diameter. A mature and well developed plant can produce between 750 to 9,000 seeds!
So prevention is the key. In addition to manual pulling, hand hoeing can be effective in large stands of these plants when done in the early rosette stage or early stages of flowering.
It’s important to remember, according to Kristen Comella, that not all mustards are bad since some are native to our area. So proper identification is important.
But Sahara mustard is not the only problem. This year’s moisture has led to growth of London rocket and cheat grass. It’s easy to see the problem we have with weeds generally when one drives along Snow Canyon Parkway. The roadside above the St. George ball field is an area where weeds grow in large numbers.
Recently, my own yard maintenance folks explained that Ivins has been a particularly difficult place to control weeds this year due to all the open areas where weeds are flourishing. This brings up the issue of property owner responsibility.
Whether it’s Sahara mustard or other weeds that impact neighbors’ yards, we all have a responsibility to control weeds in our yards so they don’t end up infiltrating our neighbors’ areas, areas that they perhaps have been working diligently and responsibility to keep clear of weeds. This may be a big effort in large open areas, but do those property owners have any less responsibility than others to maintain their property? Not in my opinion.
Finally, Roundup, a popular weed killer, has been in the news lately. A unanimous verdict in federal court by a six-person jury against the product’s manufacturer, Monsanto, is perhaps just the beginning of the end for this product, which has been linked to cancer. Even if Roundup remains on the market, for the health of themselves and their loved ones folks might want to consider natural weed killers as they try to get a handle on this year’s bumper crop of weeds. I found that this one works and offer it here for your consideration:
—1 gallon vinegar.
—2 cups epsom salt.
—¼ cup Dawn dish soap (the blue original).
Spray the mixture on in the morning after the dew has evaporated.
Thanks to Kristen Comella for providing me with information about the Sahara mustard to help me better understand the plant and how it factors in to our current situation.
Good luck, folks. This is war!
The viewpoints expressed above are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The Independent.
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