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Woody Plants of Utah

Rubber Rabbitbrush
Ericameria nauseosa
Copyright © 2010 Lyle Bingham 

Big Sagebrush
Artemisia tridentata
Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov 

Shadscale Saltbush
Atriplex confertifolia
Southwest Regional Gap Analysis Project Field Crew/life.nbii.gov 

Hi I’m Holly Strand.

If you ‘re a plant lover, I’ve got just the thing for your Christmas list! A new field guide is just now hitting the shelves. It’s called Woody Plants of Utah by Renee Van Buren, Janet Cooper, Leila Shultz and Kimball Harper.

You may already own the very excellent Guide to the Trees of Utah and Intermountain West by Michael Kuhns. This book will help you identify over 219 native and introduced trees. It’s very useful because trees are what people tend to notice and appreciate. But trees are the dominant plant form on only 15% of Utah’s land area. Elsewhere, frequent droughts and extreme temperatures make life too hard for them.

Shrublands however, cover over 50% of the state. And that—in my opinion—is why you would also want the book Woody Plants of Utah on your shelf or in your backpack, for its pictures and descriptions of shrubs are outstanding.

I was amazed to find that there are over 82 species of shrub in the sunflower family alone! Sagebrush is in this family so that helps push the number up. Every Utahn should be able to recognize the aromatic big sagebrush that occurs in virtually every Utah county. As its common name implies it is larger than other kind of sagebrush. It can grow over 3 meters high! Other common species are Bigelow, sand, silver, and Wyoming sagebrush. In all there are over 19 different sagebrush species in the state.

Rabbitbrush is the common name for a number of shrub species distributed within 3 genera of the sunflower family. One of the most common forms, ericameria nauseosa, sounds like it might make you ill. Yet as the name suggests this yellow-flowered shrub is consumed by rabbits as well as by deer, elk, and pronghorn.

Where evaporation exceeds precipitation there’s a build-up of salts in the soil. This is common around the Great Salt Lake where water leaches into surrounding lands and then evaporates, concentrating salts near the surface. A number of shrubs are specifically adapted to saline conditions. Shadcale is one of the more common salt-tolerant amaranths. You many not recognize the name but undoubtedly you’ve driven or walked by this shrub innumerable times.

There are so many other shrubs to get to know: manzanitas, ephedras, mesquite, mountain mahogany, wild rose and wild raspberry just to name a few. Woody Plants of Utah will help you explore this fascinating but often underappreciated life form that blankets so much of our state.

Order the book through Utah State University Press or find it at your local bookstore.

For pictures and links go to www.Wildaboututah.org

For Wild About Utah, I’m Holly Strand.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy and Copyright Lyle Bingham
and Courtesy the NBII LIFE, https://life.nbii.gov
Text: Holly Strand

Sources & Additional Reading:
Van Buren, Renee, Janet Cooper, Leila Shultz and Kimball Harper. 2011.
Woody Plants of Utah: A Field Guide with Identification Keys to Native and Naturalized Trees, Shrubs, Cacti, and Vines. Utah State University Press.
https://www.usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=8244

Kuhns, Michael. 1998. Guide to the Trees of Utah and Intermountain West Utah State University Press.
https://www.usu.edu/usupress/books/index.cfm?isbn=8244

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Jardine Juniper

Jardine Juniper
a Rocky Mountain Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum
Courtesy & © 2010 Andrea Liberatore
Stokes Nature Center


Jardine Juniper
a Rocky Mountain Juniper
Juniperus scopulorum
Courtesy & © 2010 Andrea Liberatore
Stokes Nature Center

Hi, I’m Chelsea McMahon and I’m Rose Wiarda from Utah State University’s Department of Environment and Society.

Can you recall watching a tree grow from a seed to a shade-giving giant over your lifetime? Now imagine this happening on a timescale of over 50 generations! Logan Canyon’s Jardine Juniper is a tree that has survived through many centuries of human history. Core samples taken from this gnarled giant reveal its age as an estimated 1500 years old. The Jardine Juniper was discovered in 1923 by Maurice Lindford, a student at Utah State Agricultural College, now Utah State University. Lindford named the tree in honor of fellow alumnus and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary William Mason Jardine.

The Jardine Juniper is a Rocky Mountain juniper, one of Utah’s two tree-sized native juniper species. The Rocky Mountain juniper is characterized by bluish-green foliage and bright blue berry-like cones. Native American tribes throughout the Intermountain West and the western Great Plains have traditionally used juniper berries, foliage, and roots for medicinal purposes.

The Jardine Juniper holds a position on Utah’s Big Tree champion list as the largest Rocky Mountain juniper in the state. It also occupies a position on the prestigious National Register of Big Trees. This register, which is maintained by non-profit group American Forests, records the dimensions of the largest trees in the nation. The Jardine Juniper overshadows other trees of its species with a 284-inch diameter and 40-foot height, making it not only the largest in the U.S., but the largest in the world.

Although its current foliage is sparse, the tree is still alive. This hardy sentinel has kept watch over centuries of change in the canyon, witnessing the comings and goings of native Shoshone peoples, the arrival of fur trappers and Mormon settlers, and the development of the canyon as part of the Uintah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest.

If you wish to see this majestic remnant of another age, take a hike! The hike to the Jardine Juniper is about 9 miles round trip and is accessible by the Uintah-Wasatch-Cache National Forest trail 014, the Jardine juniper trail. Wear weather appropriate clothing and bring plenty of water—this hike is steep in places! Above all, enjoy your time in the presence of this impressive vestige of the past and remember that its preservation depends on kind treatment from visitors like you.

I’m Rose Wiarda and I’m Chelsea McMahon for Wild About Utah.
Credits:

Photos: Courtesy & © 2010 Andrea Liberatore, Stokes Nature Center https://logannature.org/
Text:    Rose Wiarda & Chelsea McMahon, USU Environment & Society

Additional Reading:

American Forests National Register of Big Trees: https://www.americanforests.org/our-programs/bigtree/

General info about Jardine Juniper: https://ewb.usu.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/INFO-Jardine-Juniper.pdf

General info about the Rocky Mountain Juniper: https://plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_jusc2.pdf

The Jardine Juniper Trail: https://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/uwcnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=9376&actid=24

Jardine Juniper Trail, LoganCanyonHiking.com, https://www.logancanyonhiking.com/jardine.htm

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Feed the Birds

Pine Siskins and a Goldfinch feed on thistle from a sock feeder. Photo Courtesy and Copyright 2008 Jim Cane
Pine Siskins and an
American Goldfinch feed
feed on thistle from a sock feeder
Copyright © 2008 Jim Cane

Hopper Feeder
Copyright © 2008 Jim Cane

Hopper Feeder with Squirrel
Copyright © 2008 Jim Cane

Suet Feeder
Copyright © 2008 Jim Cane

Many of our songbirds have flown south to spend the winter. I confess that on frigid days I envy them. Like you and I, though, many birds remain behind. They fluff their feathers to trap body heat and spend these short days in a perpetual hunt for food to keep them warm. You can help their hungry quest by feeding our diverse songbirds using a convenient birdfeeder.

For loose seed, I use a hopper feeder. The hopper resembles a tiny roofed house which is filled with seed that is dispensed from a trough at its base. Another common style of seed feeder is a broad tray. It will need a roof and drain holes to keep the seed dry and free of mold.

(https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections)

Our feeder is above a stone walkway for birds like juncos that prefer seed spilled on the ground. A ring of upturned tomato cages around this area excludes cats, and the season’s discarded Christmas tree will provide cover for the birds.

(https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections)

Chickadees and finches prefer black oil sunflower seed, rich in fats and proteins, with a thin shell. If you buy seed mixes, juncos and sparrows will take white millet, but milo or so-called red millet is a filler. Doves and jays like cracked corn.

(https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections)

Goldfinches and pine siskins flock to Niger thistle seed dispensed from a fine mesh sock that you can buy where you purchase the seed. Woodpeckers and nuthatches appreciate a suet feeder, which is a wire mesh cage containing a block of seed-filled suet. Expect magpies to hammer chunks off the suet block occasionally.

Don’t forget water, a scarce commodity for birds in winter. Plug in models remain ice free with scant power use.

Nothing quite cheers a wintry day for me like colorful songbirds noisily bustling at our feeders. If you do put up feeders, consider joining in Project Feeder Watch. You can find details on our Wild About Utah website.

Credits:

Photo: Courtesy & Copyright 2008 Jim Cane, Bridgerland Audubon Society, www.bridgerlandaudubon.org
Text: Jim Cane & Linda Kervin, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Bird Recordings Courtesy and Copyright Dr. Kevin Colver, WildSanctuary, Soundscapes, https://wildstore.wildsanctuary.com/collections/special-collections

Additional Reading:

Project Feederwatch, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://feederwatch.org/

How to Attract Birds to your Yard, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, https://www.allaboutbirds.org/Page.aspx?pid=1138

The Great Backyard Bird Count, Birdsource.org, https://www.birdcount.org/

Creating landscapes for Wildlife — A Guide for Backyards in Utah, A production of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, Utah State University Cooperative Extension Service & Department of Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning, https://wildlife.utah.gov/pdf/landscapingforwildlife.pdf

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A New Winter Coat

Snowshoe Hare Summer Coat
Lepus americanus
Photo Courtesy US NPS


Snowshoe Hare Winter Coat
Photo Courtesy USDA Forest Service

Hi, this is Mark Larese-Casanova from the Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.

November is the time of year in Utah when the weather takes a quick turn from autumn to winter. As the line of snow from occasional October storms creeps further down the mountains, I’m inspired to bring wool sweaters and down jackets out of storage. It’s easy for us to simply wear extra layers, but what about the animals that live high in the mountains, where winter set in weeks ago?

While some mammals are cued by their internal clocks to begin sleeping the winter away, many brave creatures prepare to spend the winter searching for food. Being active in the cold requires a warmer coat, just like it does for us. The reduced amount of daylight in autumn triggers hormones that cue many mammals to grow a thicker and warmer fur coat.

Some mammals, such as weasels and hares, counter the onset of winter by ‘changing’ the color of their fur from brown to white. For instance, snowshoe hares grow long, white guard hairs that cover their brown fur in winter. The snowshoe hare benefits from this thicker, white fur not only by retaining heat, but also by using camouflage to hide from its many predators.

Surprisingly, white fur also helps insulate. It might make more sense for brown fur to be warmer since it is darker in color. But, white hairs, which lack the pigment melanin, have more air spaces that result in greater insulation.

While weasels are predators, there are other animals, including birds of prey, that feed upon them. The winter coat of the ermine, also referred to as the short-tailed weasel, is entirely white, except for the black tip of its tail. When an ermine runs, the tip of its tail swings wildly, drawing the attention of a predator away from its body to its expendable tail.

The timing of change from brown to white fur in autumn is critical to survival. An early snow can create a white backdrop for a snowshoe hare that is still brown, likely increasing the chance of predation. Conversely, a lack of snow late in autumn can make a snowshoe hare that has already turned white stand out like a sore thumb.

The number of days with snow on the ground has been decreasing in mountainous areas, and predation of snowshoe hares has been highest in spring and autumn. In some areas of the country, such as the Cascades and Olympic Mountains, snowshoe hares are mottled white and brown year round, or never turn white in winter. Comparing these populations to others across the West will help us better understand how animals, such as the snowshoe hare, are able to adapt to our changing climate.

For Wild About Utah, I’m Mark Larese-Casanova.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy US NPS & USDA Forest Service
Text:     Mark Larese-Casanova, Utah Master Naturalist Program at Utah State University Extension.
Additional Reading:

University of Montana (2009, February 24). Climate Change Hurting Hares: White Snowshoe Hares Can’t Hide On Brown Earth. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 22, 2011, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090224220347.htm

Rust, C.C., R. M. Shackelford, and R.K. Meyer (1965). Control of Pelage Cycles in the Mink. Journal of Mammalogy, Vol. 46, No. 4 (Nov., 1965), pp. 549-565, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/5838224

Fraley, J. (2006). Snowshoe Hare: Lepus americanus. Montana Outdoors Portrait. Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, https://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/snowshoe.htm