Water-hungry salt cedar trees removed

  About 45 minutes north of Yuma, the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge stretches across over 25,000 acres of the Sonoran Desert. The Colorado River runs through the refuge, making it a habitat for the bird species plus native plants. 

  But an invasive plant, tamarisk, has spread throughout the refuge, threatening to drive out native plants.

  From September through December, a group of volunteer conservationists from around the country came to the area to lend a hand in efforts to eradicate the tamarisk, or salt cedar tree. The tamarisk increases the soil's salinity, making it infertile for cottonwoods, mesquite and willow trees, and also soaks up water needed by those native species to survive.

  After a two-week orientation and training period, the crew began its battle with the tamarisk. Working 10-hour days, Monday through Thursday, crew members started at the six manmade ponds located near the refuge's Visitors Center. 

 The group used chainsaws and loppers to work around the perimeter of each pond and along all the surrounding roads. For the larger plants, they found it most efficient to break up into a group of two and a group of three.

  In the group of three, the sawer would use a chainsaw to cut the branches, the swamper would drag them out and pile them along the road, and the sprayer would spray herbicide on the cut stumps to kill the root system and prevent regrowth. In the group of two, the swamper would also act as the sprayer. 

  "Everyone had enough to do and we didn't get in each other's way," said Stephanie Orlando, a 22-year-old Milwaukee resident who took part in the effort organized by the Student Conservation Association, a nonprofit organization that makes interns available to help in conservation projects around the nation.

  After removing the trees from the ponds, the group moved on to nearby farm fields and the accompanying roads, where they removed more of the trees.

  Some roads were lined with a wall of tamarisk, and Orlando observed, “it's as if someone planted them all.”

  Once the area was cleared, the group moved on to Red Cloud Mine Road, which leads to many of the refuge's popular hikes. Here they cut larger tamarisks, some as high as 60 feet. The volunteers spent much of the month of December removing these trees, all the while learning how to fell trees properly and really honing their skills with a chainsaw.

  The tamarisk is native to Eurasia and was brought to Arizona in the late 19th century as an ornamental plant. It was also used along riverbanks to prevent erosion. It eventually escaped cultivation and grew unchecked in the wild.

  It is classified as an invasive because it has negative effects on the natural ecosystem. It thrives in wetlands. A single large plant is capable of consuming upwards of 300 gallons of water in a single day.

  Participating in the effort besides Orlando were Mathis Bauchner, 18, of Cambridge, Mass.; Brad Goldstein, 19, of Westport, Conn.; Shanti Singleton, 27, from Seattle; and Julie Vargo, 25, from Indiana.

  "We were always able to have fun while we worked," Orlando said. "We got to try so many new things and meet new people.”

  Another SCA crew will return to the refuge next September to pick up where this crew left off.