On July 18th, NPS Natural Resource Program Center employees from Fort Collins and Denver came to the park to attack exotic plants.
Represented were the Air Resources Division, Water Resources Division, Geologic Resources Division, Biological Resource Management Division and a number of Colorado State University research associates affiliated with the program center.
These employees, together with American Conservation Corps volunteers and Rocky Mountain National Park staff, treated exotic species on 115 acres within the park during one day. Non-park employees contributed 340 hours toward this project. The work groups gathered 49 bags (55 gallons each) for a total of 2,695 gallons of possible seed materials, which equals somewhere in the millions of actual seeds.
This has become an annual project and has taken place for the last four years. Park staff are extremely grateful for their assistance in tackling exotic species like dalmatian toadflax, mullein, yellow and white sweetclover, musk thistle and diffuse knapweed.
