Grand Junction Monument Stewards Restore Native Plants

Volunteers in Colorado West Land Trust's Monument Stewards program harvest seeds from native plants that are then cultivated by City horticulture staff into becoming seedlings for replanting on city public open space, along the Monument Trail and at the Lunch Loop Trailhead. Volunteers remove invasive weeds like Tamarisk and once those are cleared, they plant the native seedlings and over some years nurture them so the weeds don't grow back. Once the seedlings are replanted, volunteers, with the supervision of city horticulture staff and members of the Colorado West Land Trust, water weekly to ensure the baby plants get a good start at reaching maturity as healthy adult plants.

Plants whose seeds are harvested for the program include Rabbit Brush, Sage Brush, Spike Dropseed grass and Four-wing Saltbush. Hardy drought-tolerant plants like deep-rooted native Four-wing Saltbush don't require much water once they get established.

In addition to beautifying the area around the Lunch Loop Trailhead, the program helped to restore land surrounding the Monument Trail after the paved trail was constructed and there are plans to do the same with the completion of the new section further west connecting Monument with S. Camp later this year.

The Monument Stewards is a collaborative effort lead by Colorado West Land Trust and the City of Grand Junction, with valuable input from Eureka! Science Museum, Grand Valley Audubon, local professionals, and native plant enthusiasts.