Pecos River Ecosystem Project
Applying saltcedar control along the Pecos banks
By Danielle Supercinski
In the early 1900s, government agencies and private landowners began planting saltcedar to control stream bank erosion along rivers, such as the Pecos. Through the 20th century, an estimated 14,000 acres of water-consuming saltcedar thrive along the banks of the Pecos River in Texas and quickly dominated the area, out-competing native plants for sunlight, moisture and nutrients.
The Pecos River Ecosystem Project was conceived in 1997 to address alternatives for saltcedar control along the Pecos. In September 1999, North Star Helicopters from Jasper, Texas applied aerial Arsenal® treatments to 655 acres. Since that time, saltcedar treatments continued along the Pecos River and throughout the whole basin. From 1999 through 2005 approximately $2,693,915 had been spent treating 13,497 total acres along the river and the entire basin.
“As of the end of the 2005 spray season, my estimate is that we’ve completed treating approximately 75 percent of saltcedar on the entire Pecos River in Texas,” said Charles Hart, professor and Extension range specialist in Fort Stockton.
Research continues, but current estimates show that each acre of saltcedar uses an average of 3 to 4 acre feet of water annually. Through the Pecos River management program, researchers hope to salvage at least 50 percent of this annual loss, he said.
“At this point, about all I can estimate is that we are salvaging about 2 acre feet (of water) for every acre of saltcedar we have treated,” Hart said.
This project has already seen significant water savings from these treatments. Throughout the project’s first seven years, total water salvage estimates are between 54,268 to 81,402 acre feet (17.7 to 26.5 billion gallons).
The Pecos River Management Plan focuses on three key areas: 1) Herbicide application on saltcedar, 2) debris removal through prescribed burning, and 3) long-term follow-up management through biological control, spot spraying and native plant restoration. A major concern is the revegetation of the river banks with native plants to complete the ecosystem restoration. The treatment methods selected needed to provide a high rate of saltcedar mortality while minimizing detrimental effects on existing native vegetation.
“In summary, saltcedar control using the herbicide application described was successful with an average of 85 to 90 percent apparent mortality of saltcedar two years after treatment,” Hart said. “With long-term monitoring, treatment life of the control strategies should be further evaluated and follow-up management alternatives explored.”
Saltcedar control efforts continue along the river banks, as well as in other infested areas in the Pecos River Basin. Numerous agencies, organizations and companies are involved in helping along these project efforts.
“The Rio Grande Basin Initiative allowed us to enhance our monitoring and research efforts and helped to provide base data important in obtaining additional funding,” Hart said.
Major partners include the Upper Pecos Soil and Water Conservation District, Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas Department of Agriculture, USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, Red Bluff Water and Power Control District, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Pecos River Compact, International Boundary and Water Commission, BASF, local landowners, and irrigation districts in Loving, Reeves, Ward and Pecos Counties.
For more information on the Pecos River Ecosystem Project please visit http://pecosbasin.tamu.edu or contact Charles Hart at cr-hart@tamu.edu.
