by Brian Cashore, Saltcedar Control Coordinator
July 2005

After seven years of cutting tamarisk on the lower Owens River, one learns not to look too far downstream. There is usually more than enough brush to stay occupied within a cowpies throw of the parking spot for the day. Not that there arent unexpected surprises: that charging cow protecting the just born calf, the early morning river crossings ya, the ice is thick, itll hold you (nope), the unexplainable military operations going on overhead, all are in a days work for the saltcedar crew. As we work our way south, branch by branch, towards the delta at Owens Lake, the miles along the river channel accumulate slow and steady.

In recent years, weve had the benefit of funds from the California Wildlife Conservation Board. Matching funds from LADWP keep the sawdust flying as well. The combined funding sources keep the program moving forward as well as allowing for year-round monitoring and follow-up maintenance, a key component to long-term control.

In the last year, our seven-person crew worked through thick side channels and off-river ditches to return to the main channel, where flowing water and native trees added diversity and challenge. As we move downstream below Mazourka Canyon Road, the dense saltcedar populations give way to patches until the next tami-jungle near the Alabama Gates north of Lone Pine.

The work on tamarisk-eating beetles continues and it is anticipated that the newest arrivals, climate and latitude specific insects, will begin to affect saltcedar regionally as in other western U.S. locations.

Even though we can see Owens Lake now when we park each day, we know its really best to focus on whats around the next river bend.

A 2005 tamarisk photo-essay is available here.