Revegetation efforts at alta ski area.
Video: Tyler Struss
Alta Ski Area's revegetation efforts continue as the Alta Environmental Center (AEC) partnered with Dryland Horticulture to grow 12,740 native plant seedlings. The seeds for this program were harvested from the slopes of Alta during the summer of 2022.
On June 19th, these plants made the move from Salt Lake City to Wildcat Nursery at Alta Ski Area—8,500 feet above sea level. AEC staff will tend to the nursery and the seedlings will be planted throughout the summer.
While we are used to long winters and short summers in this subalpine environment, this summer's planting window will be extremely short—following on the heels of a record-setting 2022–23 winter that saw 903 inches of snowfall.
The AEC is already hard at work putting these native plants in the ground within the mountain's lower reaches where the snow is finally melting. Between the first Community Volunteer Day and Alta Summer Employee Conservation, over 1,500 native plant seedlings have been planted. The dedication and work that goes into our revegetation and restoration projects is no small task, we are so thankful to our volunteers and partner organizations who play a crucial role in helping us complete our summer land conservation work.
Alta’s revegetation program and partnership with Dryland Horticulture works in conjunction with landowners, Alta Ski Area and the US Forest Service. This program follows a set of protocols in which every handpicked seed is put back into Alta’s landscape to contribute to the restoration of ecosystem functions and recovery at sites of disturbance within the ski area.
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