After several years of hard work, Steve Miles and the Dolores Tamarisk Action Group are starting to see what they like: dying tamarisk. And Miles hopes to see that trend continue. "I really think we are going to see the end of tamarisk," Miles said. "Ten years from now, we will be worrying about Russian olives." Tamarisk, also known as salt cedar, is a nonnative plant with slender branches, gray-green foliage, feathery, needle-like leaves and small, pink flowers. Over time, tamarisk has invaded almost all waterways throughout the Southwest below 7,500 feet. One mature plant can consume as much as 300 gallons of water in one day, something not welcome in a land where water is so precious. Tamarisk is estimated to cover 10,000 acres in Montezuma County, and the Dolores Tamarisk Action Group is doing several things to combat that.

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