Someone applied herbicide to a large area of the Swaner EcoCenter in the Snyderville Basinearlier this month. But the ecocenter didn’t pay anyone to spray the area and is worried about unidentified chemicals on their land.
The trespasser applied the herbicide on the south boundary of the Swaner Preserve, according to a Facebook post from the center. Private yards next to the preserve were also affected.
The center offers 1,200 acres of natural preserve with nature tours, environmental education and over 10 miles of trails.
The trespassers applied herbicide to invasive weeds, but weren’t successful because they didn’t apply it in a high enough concentration to kill many of the weeds.
But the issue now is the center doesn’t know what kinds of chemicals were used, which areas were treated or what plants were affected.
Swaner does hire contractors to use herbicide on their land, but said they didn’t pay anyone to spray this area.
When hiring contractors, Swaner takes into account things like weed population density, weather, moisture and animals. Instead of spraying entire areas, they spot-treat to eradicate invasive weeds. The center will also physically remove species and use more natural biocontrols like insects and fungus.
In November, Swaner reported multipletrees were cut down on their land by someone. They never figured out who was responsible for the damage.
Swaner asked for anyone interested in weed management to reach out to their team before “taking measures into [their] own hands.”