By Mark Moran
The Arizona Game and Fish Department is clearing overgrown shrubby, tamarisk trees to restore the riparian habitat on the Gila River.
The stands have become so dense, even the heartiest of desert species are struggling to reach the water. The tamarisk trees, also known as salt cedars, along the Gila River in Arizona, are creating an increased wildfire risk in an already arid and fire-prone area. They are also blocking access to the water for native javelina, mule deer and bighorn sheep, which are capable of burrowing through almost anything.
Bobby Lamoreaux, lands and habitat programs manager for the Arizona Game and Fish Department, said crews are working to change the landscape.
"We're trying to just restore it to the old condition," Lamoreaux explained. "The reasoning for that, generally, is because salt cedar really just doesn't provide much habitat value. Our native species haven't learned of it over time as a foraging food. So, nothing eats it really, besides the beetle. It grows so dense that even middle-sized animals, like javelina, can't access into the fields for water."
Beyond the little bit of help the beetle provides, crews are using backhoes and other heavy equipment to remove as much of the tamarisk overgrowth as they can. The problem extends along the length of the Gila River, which originates in New Mexico and runs through Arizona.
Lamoreaux noted the beetles eat what little foliage is on the salt cedar trees but it can cause an even bigger problem during wildfire season.
"The big concern is that with these really dense tamarisk stands, they're already a huge fire risk, but the beetle comes in and quickly defoliates it and ends up drying out a lot of the top surface leaf," Lamoreaux outlined. "So, it actually ups the fire risk to a point where any sort of ignition source will cause it to light up."
Lamoreaux added the tamarisk trees also secrete so much salt onto the desert, nearly nothing can grow in the soil, which also detracts from the habitat in and around the Gila River.
