| TAMARISK
REMOVAL dramatically restored the flow of surface water from one spring in
California. At Red Rock Canyon State Park, a tamarisk thicket measuring 50 ft
by 25 ft was cleared during 1987 next to a small spring in a dry
wash. Previously, the seep yielded a few puddles at most and dried up during the summers. After tamarisk removal, water flow increased greatly, so that perrennial surface water now flows a half mile down the wash. Tamarisk clearance was started in the late spring months and left uncompleted over one summer, with the result that surface water flow returned while tamarisk seeds were dispersed from nearby trees. Consequently, approximately 10,000 seed- |
lings took
root in the previously barren wash, which had to be pulled by boy scouts and
other volunteers. By the spring of 1988, the remaining large trees were cut and
treated and all seedlings pulled, and native shrubs became widely established
in the expanded riparian zone. /Bill Neill (Bill Neill, the Angeles Chapter's Wildlife Chair, leads work parties out to the desert regularly in the fall, winter and spring to eradicate tamarisk infestations and restore wildlife habitat. Write him at 490O Glenview, Anaheim CL 92807 to join the Wildlife Committee or participate in tamarisk work parties.) |
