Saltcedar Emerging As Noxious
Plant Problem Along Stream

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. —(AP)— In an effort that will attract sympathizers all over West Texas, Colorado National Monument is declaring war on tamarisk.

The water-guzzling, streambank-choking exotic plant introduced in the Southwest 160 years ago now affects every western state except Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Nature Conservancy estimates that tamarisk guzzles five million acre-feet of water a year in the Southwest, enough to satisfy the current domestic potable water consumption in the Grand Valley for more than 400 years.

"Removal of this non-native plant will correct altered ecological conditions attributed to the species," said monument superintendent Steve Hickman.

The National Park Service issued a draft environmental assessment for the removal project with a Nov. 28 deadline for comment. Alternatives include no action and a preferred alternative.

First introduced as an ornamental tree around 1837, tamarisk tends to crowd out native species.

Also known as saltcedar, tamarisk exudes salt from glands in its leaves, making the soil around it inhospitable to native vegetation. Western settlers introduced it as a source of wood, shade and erosion control. Tamarisk now infests approximately one million acres in the United States.

A native of the Middle East, tamarisk has deep roots, extremely high water consumption, relative immunity to extermination efforts and relative uselessness as wildlife habitat or forage.

Tamarisk has no natural predators or disease to limit its spread, increasing the difficulty of controlling it. And each plant produces up to 5,000,000 seeds per year.

The Nature Conservancy reports that in Death Valley National Park, the National Park Service is successfully restoring desert pools through an intensive program of tamarisk removal.

The Nature Conservancy has tamarisk on its list of 10 least wanted plants.

Hickman described the problem as "manageable" within the Colorado National Monument's boundaries, citing successful methods used in Arches and Zion national parks.