Eagle Mountain, UT Invasive Plant Rules: Prohibited Species (2026)

020(B) singles out a specific list of invasive plants as prohibited weeds in Eagle Mountain: kochia (Kochia scoparia), Russian thistle (Salsola tragus), Jim Hill mustard (Sisymbrium altissimum), cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), bur buttercup (Ceratocephala testiculata), and Tausi mustard. The ordinance layers this local list on top of the noxious weeds already described under the Utah Noxious Weed Act and defined by the State Weed Committee of the state of Utah and by Utah County, so a property can be cited for both a state-designated noxious weed and one of these six city-specific species, regardless of height.

All six are classic Cedar Valley range and disturbed-ground invaders: kochia and Russian thistle are the tumbleweeds that pile against fences and outbuildings after they dry and break off; cheatgrass is the fine, fast-curing grass blamed for carrying wildland fire into subdivisions built at the edge of open range; bur buttercup and Jim Hill mustard spread aggressively across graded, unlandscaped lots typical of the city's fast-growing subdivisions. Because the same section that lists these species also sets the six-inch height standard, code enforcement can cite a lot for the height violation, the presence of a listed noxious species, or both.

The city's code enforcement officer investigates and issues written notice before any civil penalty accrues, and vacant, recently graded lots in Eagle Mountain's newer subdivisions are the ordinance's most frequent targets.