All About Moscow’s Green Thumb

Through seasons of pristine winter snow and vibrant, green summer weather, the Palouse’s rolling hills and vast landscapes are a pinnacle of beauty the whole year round.  

The University of Idaho, the only land-grant research institution in the state, has built a reputation for offering the community ways to become involved in appreciating the unique environment.  

Camilla Ditton, a fourth-year horticulture and urban agriculture major, as well as president of UI’s Soil Stewards Club, has a lot to say about the makeup of the Palouse’s unique plant environment.  

“In the Moscow area, I think most of the farms around here tend to do a lot of ecological balance,” Ditton said. 

Although most conservation efforts take place on protected areas of land, farmers on the Palouse who do not engage in monocrop agriculture tend to grow small rotational vegetable crops. They also make sure to use products that maintain soil buildup and prevent erosion.  

Protected areas of land are mainly focused in Whitman County, aiming to preserve native grassland populations. These conservation areas are located around the Hell’s Canyon recreational area and Coulee Dam recreational area. 

Conservation efforts also exist to ward off threats for invasive plant species. While the fertile soil of the Palouse allows for healthy root structures and organic buildup, it also allows for other plants to have a negative impact. 

“We can’t really scale back the agriculture that’s taking place because this is one of the highest per capita wheat producing areas of the entire nation. So, unfortunately, that’s not a realistic goal,” Ditton said. “We can scale back a little bit, but everybody who’s farming the land is going to keep farming the land because they need to.”  

When looking at small-scale, organic farming, soil stewards hold several hands-on experiences for students and community members to participate in. 

“You learn about balancing the ecology of your area, along with all the insects, the diseases and the other plants that you’ll find in the area with what you’re trying to grow,” Ditton said. “It takes a very realistic approach where it’s not all eradication because honestly eradication is not super feasible in a small farm, especially an organic system, but it’s all about management and balancing the ecology.” 

All in all, sustainability is at the forefront of maintaining the Palouse’s natural grasslands while supporting the essential agricultural industry. It is an intricate puzzle that must be studied and respected in order to work properly.  

“Agriculture nowadays is based on sustainability because we realize that we are running out of agricultural lands,” Ditton said.  “Sustaining the fertility of the lands that we have is so critically important.” 

Alison Detjens, a faculty member instructing in soil & water systems since 2018 and adviser to the Soil Stewards Farm has had a longstanding interest in studying and promoting environmentalism. Having pursued an undergraduate degree in anthropology and later moving to work on a small-scale, organic farm, Detjens solidified her love for the environment and education by teaching classes on the community college level. 

“What inspired me to even go in that direction was just a love of nature and of food. and that’s what kind of got me farming,” Detjens said. “Once I started learning more about farming and protecting natural resources and the impact that we have through our food system on the planet, that just solidified the direction.”   

As the adviser to the Soil Stewards Club, Detjens oversees club initiatives taken on by UI students. While plant physiology students may use the farm grounds as a living laboratory to observe different plant-based diseases and viruses, irrigation classes study the filtration, irrigation, and water pressure. Mostly, she oversees students directly involved in the club to make sure adequate resources are being provided, although she trusts the students to make most of their own independent decisions.  

Detjens uses a systems-based approach when it comes to environmentalism and sustainability, looking at the grand-scale of holistic factors that influence why certain systems and situations are in place and how they function.  

“When we’re talking about sustainability, we’re problem-solving some of our food systems issues,” Detjens said.  “If there’s a problem, what does that whole system look like that that that kind of issue is a part of, and when we change something, how does that impact the rest of the system?”  

One of the reigning examples of a holistic approach to managing crops on the Palouse is the implementation of the Conservation Reserve Program, or CRP. This government program provides monetary incentivization to farmers who keep their land out of agriculture production. This program works directly with the Palouse Conservation District to preserve lands whenever possible. 

“Farmers will apply, and then the government pays them per acre to not farm essentially,” Detjens said. “That started in the 30s to help to increase the amount or decrease the amount of food supply because there was this mismatch- there was too much food and not enough people that could buy it.” 

Some of the negative side effects and influences of a lack of environmental balance can be seen on the Palouse today.  

“We’ve got a lot of erosion issues like runoff issues and some water quality issues from excess application of fertilizers, however, a lot of those things have been improving for decades now,” Detjens said. “I think overall, there’s been great strides in no-till (methods) and reducing the agricultural impact.” 

In Detjen’s opinion, everyone has the ability to help preserve the Palouse.  

“I just think that no matter who you are or what your interests are, like whether you’re seeking formal education on that topic or not, it’s important to spend a little time on being knowledgeable and responsible about your choices,” Detjens said.  

Timothy Prather has been teaching about habitat restoration and invasive species at the UI since 2000, now specializing in his classes in the Department of Plant Sciences.  

His passion for environmental science began when he started working with invasive plant species, resulting from an interest in looking at conservation as well as helping with production aspects on rangelands, according to Prather. 

“Sometimes it’s more of a rehabilitation and may not necessarily be all native plant communities, and you’re looking at a production focus, and then others it’s a balance between both agricultural production and conservation of natural areas,” Prather said. “So that has expanded out into me working in restoration, and this focus on Palouse prairies, really looking at primarily that restoration conservation goal.” 

Prather’s courses also allow students to explore different aspects of environmental science and sustainability. One course focuses on teaching methods of community plant restoration, specifically for the Palouse. 

“That class has a focus on discussion, going through some of the literature on restoration, and then talking about how that would apply,” Prather said.” 

As for describing the ecological makeup of the Palouse and discussing the best ways to conserve  native species, Prather emphasizes seed germination and physiology. 

The way that seeds are grown, nurtured, watered and spread to their best ability is one of the best ways to make sure they germinate correctly and rear successful plants. 

One of the main issues that Prather describes for conservation efforts on the Palouse is that much of the prairie is privately-owned, rather than being subjected to public policies. As well, invasive species can cause environmental disruption by reducing resources available for native plants to flourish.  

When looking to solutions for balancing conservation, Prather offers some hope. With the implementation of the CRP, there are benefits at hand for the prairie. Additionally, the threat of controlled crops is not to be worried about as much as people might think, as lands have often transformed and shifted all across the nation for different purposes.  

“The Palouse prairie is a stunning prairie. It’s probably one of the prettiest prairies that we have in North America,” Prather said. “It’s incredibly diverse, and there’s very few people that actually ever get to see it. (…) we go out, we take tours through some of the Palouse prairie, and so people get to see it firsthand, which is really wonderful as well.”