Starting April 1, 2025, contractors will begin treating the invasive noxious weed myrtle spurge (Euphorbia myrsinites) with herbicide applications along Salt Lake County's eastern bench.
For specific questions about this treatment plan, please contact DWR Habitat Biologist Dani Bordeaux.
Treatments will take place on public lands (county, city, state, and U.S. Forest Service) primarily in April and May, with work completed by June 15, 2025. Specific fates and times for each area will vary depending on the weather and contractor availability. Following treatment, there will be blue dye on treated plants, which will dissipate in a couple weeks
Please see the maps below for detailed information about treatment areas:
People and pets should avoid these areas while contractors are actively working there; please visit some of our other parks and open space properties instead. Please do not touch or allow children or pets to come into contact with the plants once they have been treated and until the herbicide has dried (typically within 4 hours of application).
If you visit these areas this spring after treatment:
Contractors will use herbicide tank mixes of Roundup (Glyphosate), Telar (Chlorsulfuron), and Milestone (Aminopyralid) along with a surfactant and the blue dye.
This project is funded by the Utah Watershed Restoration Initiative (WRI), with partnership from the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Millcreek City, Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, the Utah Department of Transportation, the United States Forest Service, the Cottonwood Canyons Foundation, and Utah Open Lands.
Myrtle spurge is a highly invasive ornamental weed that has spread from home gardens to hillsides and canyons along the Wasatch Front and is pushing out native plants. Wildlife and pollinators rely on native plants for pollen, nectar, and shelter and have coevolved to exist together. Myrtle spurge can be incredibly difficult to control on the landscape level by pulling out the plants. By spot spraying plants, this project reduces the spread of myrtle spurge along the wildland urban interface, helping to conserve the remaining habitat we all love to recreate in, and protect these lands for future generations.