By the middle of next year, people may notice lots of dead trees along Grand Valley waterways, but that’s because a noxious plant is being killed off, says the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Fast-growing tamarisk trees have choked out many native species, said Missy Sider of the Montrose BLM office, but the introduction of a tamarisk-eating beetle in 2007 is making headway. ‘It’s a much more cost-effective way to deal with larger areas infested by tamarisk,’ Sider said. "We can treat smaller patches with mechanical means but large expanses become a problem." The goal is for native plants to again take over or be introduced in wetlands along the Colorado and Dolores rivers, said Dan Bean of the Palisade Insectary, which is collaborating with the BLM to introduce the beetles.

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