Chad Craney, a wetland manager with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, described the agency’s multi‑year effort to control invasive phragmites at wetlands around the Great Salt Lake. "Phragmites is a non native invasive grass," Craney said, adding that it can reach "10 to 15 feet tall" and produce "200 stems per square meter."

Craney said the division’s phragmites management plan "really evolves around this 3 to 4 year treatment cycle of spraying with herbicide," followed by efforts to remove standing dead material "either by burning mowers or tramplers." He said removing that dead biomass is intended to "open up the canopy so sunlight can get down to the soil," facilitating recovery of native plants.

Officials cited cooperation with forestry, fire, State Lands and the Division of Wildlife as central to progress. "The collaboration and cooperation with all these different agencies ... we're really starting to make a difference," Craney said, noting the work is framed as management of a public resource for recreation and for wildlife that depend on the wetlands.

The presentation did not include a formal vote or a new permitting announcement; Craney described operational practices and the ongoing program timetable. The Division of Wildlife Resources said the work will continue under the established treatment cycle and with partner agencies, and provided no immediate change to public access or funding levels.