|
|
Article: Tamarisk Trees Soak up Millions of Gallons of Water, Crowd out Natives.
- Article from:
- The Pueblo Chieftain (Pueblo, Colorado)
- Article date:
- June 20, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 The Pueblo Chieftain. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
Byline: Anthony A. Mestas
Jun. 20--LA JUNTA, Colo. -- It's not nice to fool with Mother Nature.
In the 1850s, newcomers to the American West imported the Eurasian tamarisk plant to beautify an arid landscape.
The plant succeeded beyond anyone's wildest dreams. Trouble is, the water-sucking tamarisk is consuming millions of gallons of the precious moisture and displacing native plant populations.
In the Lower Arkansas Valley, Tracy White, a La Junta contractor, is fighting the tamarisk problem one tree at a time.
White said the main reason he has studied tamarisks and wants to remove them is because of the ongoing drought. ...