For the first time in 30 years, native trees dominate the Escalante River, one of the last free flowing tributaries of the Colorado River that runs through Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
While a thousand people live in the Escalante River watershed, millions of visitors come here to play, recreate and enjoy this stunning ribbon of green in a vast slickrock wilderness. The river’s restoration is the result of an unprecedented partnership of state and federal agencies, nonprofit organizations, businesses and private landowners coming together to restore health to the Escalante River watershed through invasive species removal.
At one time, planting Russian olive trees was a solution for stabilizing the blowing sands of Escalante.