Joining in Stewardship, Partners Work to Restore Native Habitat to Health

As children, we learned that the joy of owning a pet carried the responsibility to care for that animal. As adults, we bring that same sense of obligation to maintaining the health and beauty of our wondrous southwestern desert landscape. Of such motivation was born a unique effort to rid our communities of the destructive invasive species Tamarisk (or Salt Cedar).

The Desert Preservation Initiative (DPI) grew out the concerns of a group of neighbors committed to building and maintaining the trails in Kayenta, a community in Ivins, Utah. Developing trails was increasingly inhibited by the growth of Tamarisk, a fast-growing non-native tree that stops water flow, exacerbates erosion problems, and creates significant fire danger. The trail builders soon banded together to create a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to the difficult task of removing first Tamarisk and, later, other invasive species, serving as a pilot project for interested local communities.

As early as the 1800s, Eurasian native Tamarisks were planted throughout the Southwest as ornamentals and wind breaks and to stabilize riverbanks. Since then, however, the fact that the trees concentrate salt in their leaves, which drop to the ground creating an intolerable environment for many native plants and that their root structure actually accelerates soil erosion by channeling water flow, removal groups have sprung up throughout Southwest. Removal efforts have been undertaken in Snow Canyon State Park in St. George, and in Canyonlands, Grand Canyon, and Arches National Parks. Agencies including the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, the National Park Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are part of this work.

Driven by a scientifically guided mission to review, restore, and preserve the natural landscape, DPI has partnered with multiple local and state agencies to define and implement safe and effective methods of removing Tamarisk. DPI has hosted training sessions on the use of herbicide needed to prevent regrowth, joined with local officials to safely chip debris hauled out of local washes, collaborated with homeowners to ensure minimal impact of their properties, and begun planning for the creation of a nursery to grow native plants for restoration.

Working to educate the community about the importance of this work and raise funds to continue, DPI volunteers have discovered growing support from others whose interests intersect with this project. Botanist Terrence Walters, DPI secretary, who previously directed a large botanical garden in Florida, worked with a group of woodturners there who sought unique types of wood for their craft. When he learned that Tamarisk was also prized by wood artisans, Walters reached out to the Southern Utah Woodturners (SUWT) and a new partnership was born.

Not only did the woodturners join in the hard work of physically cutting the Tamarisk, but they also volunteered to donate a portion of the profits from pieces they created in Tamarisk to DPI. Woodturners from Las Vegas to Cedar City soon joined the effort because, as SUWT Vice-President Bill Vincent notes, being able to obtain wood in log form “allows the artist to cut it to take advantage of the natural character of the wood such as the crotch and knots.”  

Barry Gray, an SUWT member who exhibits in local galleries and has won prizes in local art festivals and exhibitions, adds that Tamarisk is a very figurative wood, but that it is rarely available in larger, 10-18” diameter pieces, hence the value of working with DPI to obtain the wood while also supporting their environmental goals. As Gray says, “The magic is not in the hands or tools that we use, the magic is in what we find inside the wood.”

The beauty of those pieces, and the importance of removing the invasive Tamarisk to protect the natural environment also called out to Cherie Stoddard, owner of Gallery 873 in Kayenta Art Village. “I am so happy to see Tamarisk removed and that something beautiful can be made from this noxious tree,” Stoddard says. As a gallery owner, she also finds the creation of bowls and platters from Tamarisk found in Kayenta “a novel idea and a great gift item for those visiting Kayenta and Southern Utah.”

Committed to “passionately supporting local and emerging artists,” Stoddard joined Walters, Gray and other members of DPI at the recent Kayenta Art Festival to showcase the pieces created in Tamarisk and to spread the word about the work of DPI. Through her gallery, Stoddard shares the imagination and beauty of the works local artists create as they interpret the world we live in. Working with DPI, she supports another kind of beauty—the beauty of the natural environment we call home.

As we learned as children, caring for the things we love, or stewardship, is what DPI is all about, working to protect, and restore, the beauty that surrounds us.

If you wish to learn more about this work or to volunteer or donate to DPI, please contact [email protected]