When I was a child in the 1950s, the hillside near my grandparents' cabin at Trout Lake was covered with blue flax.
The small bright blossoms atop each slender stalk moved in even a slight wind.
Since then that hillside has been dug up for a water line. Gravel has been dumped on the hillside by snowplows scraping the road in winter, and dandelions are everywhere.
I can't find a single blue flax.
When native turf is disturbed, invasive species take root. Dandelions are the primary opportunist on this hillside, multiplying each time a puffball of seeds is scattered by wind.
Elsewhere around this lake, dandelions and thistles are growing along every road.
Some residents think they are protecting nature by not disturbing whatever grows here, including dandelions.
They don't realize that human building of railroads, roads, and houses tore up the native sod and caused the proliferation of dandelions, thistles, milkweed, ox-eye daisy, etc.
Instead of a hands-off approach, which causes many native species to retreat, humans today need to undo the damage we have caused by uprooting the invaders whenever possible.
Do your part!
If you are hiking and see a dandelion in full flower, pull it up.
If you own property, remove the dandelions from your area. You can either pull them up, spray them, or have a responsible professionals do the spraying.
In southwest Colorado, BackCountry Vegetation Management is a good resource. This company does spraying for the national parks in Colorado. Its owner has a MA in this field and lives in Redvale, near Norwood.
The chemicals they use dissolve within 24 hours and do not enter the ground water. They target each individual plant rather than spraying a noxious cloud that could harm nearby native flowers.
Whether you use a pronged trowel or a spray, do your part to protect the wildflowers!
The small bright blossoms atop each slender stalk moved in even a slight wind.
Since then that hillside has been dug up for a water line. Gravel has been dumped on the hillside by snowplows scraping the road in winter, and dandelions are everywhere.
I can't find a single blue flax.
When native turf is disturbed, invasive species take root. Dandelions are the primary opportunist on this hillside, multiplying each time a puffball of seeds is scattered by wind.
Elsewhere around this lake, dandelions and thistles are growing along every road.
Some residents think they are protecting nature by not disturbing whatever grows here, including dandelions.
They don't realize that human building of railroads, roads, and houses tore up the native sod and caused the proliferation of dandelions, thistles, milkweed, ox-eye daisy, etc.
Instead of a hands-off approach, which causes many native species to retreat, humans today need to undo the damage we have caused by uprooting the invaders whenever possible.
Do your part!
If you are hiking and see a dandelion in full flower, pull it up.
If you own property, remove the dandelions from your area. You can either pull them up, spray them, or have a responsible professionals do the spraying.
In southwest Colorado, BackCountry Vegetation Management is a good resource. This company does spraying for the national parks in Colorado. Its owner has a MA in this field and lives in Redvale, near Norwood.
The chemicals they use dissolve within 24 hours and do not enter the ground water. They target each individual plant rather than spraying a noxious cloud that could harm nearby native flowers.
Whether you use a pronged trowel or a spray, do your part to protect the wildflowers!
