UCC Teams Up With Bridgerland Audubon and Logan City at Denzil Stewart Nature Park Project

LOGAN, Utah — Last month the Utah Conservation Corps partnered with Bridgerland Audubon and Logan City to treat invasive weeds at Denzil Stewart Nature Park.

More than 30 AmeriCorps crew members from the UCC met with Hilary Shughart of Bridgerland Audubon Society for a brief introduction to the site, a lesson in local ecology, and a chance to practice the type of habitat restoration work they will continue for the rest of their terms of service on Aug. 24. In total, UCC crew members treated the entire half-acre retention basin, removing roughly 40 55-gallon contractor bags of the target species in just under 3 hours.

The 4-acre park, located in Logan’s “Island” neighborhood, is a park dedicated to the region’s wild plants and animals.

“It was remarkably forward thinking of Denzil Stewart to condition the land grant upon the preservation of native species, which we now know more than ever are essential to the food chain,” Shughart said. “If not for the native trees and shrubs hosting the butterflies and moths, there would be no caterpillars to feed the baby songbirds.”

In recent years, the park’s retention basin has become overgrown with non-native bladder senna, still a relatively uncommon sight in Utah but listed as a noxious weed in the Pacific Northwest. Although noteworthy for its beautiful orange blossoms, the plant spreads rapidly and quickly crowds out native species.

“Treating the invasive bladder senna will allow native species intentionally planted in the retention basin to flourish, such as coneflower, yarrow, chokecherry and sumac,” said Ben Borgmann-Winter, Northern Regional Coordinator for the UCC.

These species will in turn provide valuable habitat and forage for native pollinators and other wildlife, including the over two dozen butterfly species that have been documented at the park, as well as the park’s 85 bird species documented on eBird.

Utah Conservation Corps is an AmeriCorps program within the Utah State University Center for Community Engagement.

Since 2001, more than 3,000 UCC AmeriCorps members have served 2.2 million hours creating or maintaining more than 5,000 miles of trail and less than 600 miles of fence, restoring approximately 80,000 acres of public land and reaching more than 540,000 students individuals with environmental education. For more information about the Utah Conservation Corps please visit www.usu.edu/ucc.