Hungry, hungry bovines: How cows are helping benefit the Great Salt Lake

This article is published through the Great Salt Lake Collaborative, a solutions journalism initiative that partners news, education and media organizations to help inform people about the plight of the Great Salt Lake—and what can be done to make a difference before it is too late. Read all of our stories at greatsaltlakenews.org.

Syracuse • Conservationists, waging a yearslong battle against an invasive marsh reed grass that has choked out native plants and wildlife in the wetlands near the Great Salt Lake, have enlisted an unlikely ally: Cows.

The animals are part of a tactic The Nature Conservancy Utah employs to fight back against phragmites, water-sucking non-native stalks that have taken root in the Utah wetlands over several decades.

For the last three years, the group has been using cows — along with herbicides and an amphibious machine — to fight back against phragmites (pronounced “frag-MY-teez”). This year, the group added another tool to its arsenal by putting GPS collars on some cows.

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Hungry, hungry bovines: How cows are helping benefit the Great Salt Lake

Hungry, hungry bovines: How cows are helping benefit the Great Salt Lake

Hungry, hungry bovines: How cows are helping benefit the Great Salt Lake

Hungry, hungry bovines: How cows are helping benefit the Great Salt Lake

Hungry, hungry bovines: How cows are helping benefit the Great Salt Lake