**Team Tamarisk: Cooperating for Results**

**Remarks: Jim Tate, Science Advisor to Secretary of**

**the Interior, U.S. Department of Interior**

**Wednesday, March 31, 2004; 1:15 pm**

Have you been following the ongoing saga of the Mars Rovers? One of the
essential things we look for as signs of life on other planets---like
the Mars Rovers are looking for right now---are water. People in the
Southwest understand water is essential to life---and the people know
there is life waiting beneath the surface in the seemingly dry
streambeds throughout the Southwest. Something else knows there is water
there. It may not be an alien from Mars, but it is alien to the plant
and animal communities that have been here for millennia. That something
else is Tamarisk: Saltcedar: *Tamarix* sp.

But, this is spring time. When I left Washington yesterday, the Cherry
Blossoms were at their peak. They are just gorgeous. This is spring
time. When life renews itself, and things thought dead come alive.

One of the many plant specimens that Lewis and Clark brought back from
their epic journey to the northwest was a dried up root that was planted
in a garden in Philadelphia. It came back to life and bloomed. It got a
name: *Lewisia* after its discoverer and *rediviva* after its remarkable
re-growth in the spring of 1807.

It is appropriate in this season of spring and our Southwest that we
have come together to find ways to reclaim our streambeds. It would be
an understatement to say that Tamarisk is a bad actor in these parts,
and we need to run it out of town. But to do that, we need to be
strategic, realistic, grounded-in-sound-science, and
all-on-the-same-page. In a nutshell, that is what TEAM TAMARISK is all
about.

Building on what we have heard so far, it is obvious that saltcedar is
causing real ecological and economic damage in the Southwest. When I
have had my say, Erika Zavaleta will provide more detail on the economic
issues involved in tamarisk control and Tim Carlson will provide greater
detail on the ecological problems associated with this invasive species.
But first I want to give a skeptic's view on the conventional wisdom
about *Tamarix.* I have read a lot of research papers, listened to
professional land managers in the field, and recorded the observations
of men and women who have traditional ecological knowledge. But, there
is so much more for me to hear\-- for all of us to hear. I pray that
this meeting of Team Tamarisk will present that opportunity.

Scientific studies have documented problems and characteristics of this
invasive. To paraphrase one abstract I read recently, "Tamarisk has
colonized hundreds of thousands of acres of floodplain and reservoir
shoreline lands in western North America. Resource managers seek to
reduce its abundance and control its spread to increase the flow of
water that might otherwise be lost to evapotranspiration; to restore
riparian vegetation; and to improve wildlife habitat."

This invasive, which has out competed native cottonwoods and willows,
dominates many riparian areas, significantly damaging wildlife habitat
and complicating water management for municipalities, irrigation
districts, and hydropower plants. The infestation costs the region
hundreds of millions of dollars annually.

There are three legs on the invasive species stool...economy, ecology,
and human health and welfare and it is plain to see that all these
things relate to tamarisk.

However, controlling tamarisk may not result in increased water yield;
the potential for sustainable tamarisk-free revegetation is variable;
and wildlife use is complex. As a result, there is considerable debate
surrounding saltcedar control efforts. To best ensure that the desired
outcomes of control programs are met, scientists and resource managers:

-   must apply existing information and methodologies to carefully
    select and prioritize control sites, and

-   rigorously monitor the results of control and revegetation efforts,
    water yield changes, and wildlife use.

I am not saying today that we need more research before we take action;
I am saying prioritize our control efforts, monitor the results, and
adapt our new knowledge to the results.

We do need more research as well as action...more research on what
causes an organism like tamarisk to be invasive in the first place and
then devise ways to counter or reverse those causes. We need sound
science on invasiveness and the adaptive responses we can take.

But what does all this mean...I enjoy elk hunting, and I have learned
one really important thing from hunting elk...after you kill the elk,
you have to get it out of the woods...

Once when watching a group of Wisconsin hunters get their elk out of a
Colorado big game unit \[I can criticize Wisconsin elk hunters as I was
born in Mauston, WI\]---they had a 4-wheel-drive vehicle, drove up and
down a valley to get close to elk, tied the elk to the winch and pulled
it back to camp. Basically, when you kill an elk there are three ways to
get it out of the woods, one of them I just explained...

Another way to get it out of the woods is\--you can cut it up, pack it
up and pack carry it out---take maybe 2-3 trips to camp...

The third way is with a fire, salt and pepper and a knife and fork!

To get a bite off this elk....I mean the saltcedar infestation, Team
Tamarisk intends to bring people together to begin the development of a
strategic way to work together to select and prioritize our efforts,
develop common performance measures, and learn from each other a bite at
a time for the ongoing battle against this invasive weed.

Programs that seek to control saltcedar may do so to increase water
yield, to restore native vegetation, and to improve wildlife habitat,
but saltcedar control alone will rarely result in these desired
outcomes. The complexity of sites where saltcedar grows leads to
variable responses in terms of water yield, restoration potential, and
wildlife use. There will be different ways to do this, like with the
elk, but in the end, it will all be worth the effort.

This conference brings together representatives of the federal, tribal,
state, and local governments and communities, researchers, private
sector managers, conservation organizations, private landowners,
educators, and other stakeholders. We will share information, identify
opportunities for cooperation, build partnerships, find creative
solutions, recommend strategies to address tamarisk.

We will also preview and develop an interactive "living map" that
provides visual representation of the distribution and impacts of
tamarisk. This will help managers to highlight areas where projects are
underway, determine where partnership may be possible, and track
progress in tamarisk programs and the management of flood plain habitats
over time.

Perhaps most significantly, we will draft and build a commitment to a
set of guiding principles that will lead to a coordinated regional
approach to achieve effective control of tamarisk and management of
flood plain communities across the Southwest.

And Team Tamarisk provides a forum for sharing information concerning
current tamarisk biology, tamarisk control, habitat restoration, and
active research areas, water resource planning, wildland fire
management, wildlife conservation, recreation, agricultural development,
and community outreach and involvement. This information will be used to
help identify or solidify partnerships, redefine approaches, and track
progress, and direct future actions.

We will hear from people throughout the region and, I hope, common
themes will emerge. Among them will be the need for performance
measures, teamwork, common definitions and expectations, clear
understanding of success, and so on. I hope that in the next two days we
will craft partnerships and programs that are site-specific and flexible
enough to deal with changing conditions and multiple landscapes.

Resource managers need to understand what kinds of data are needed to
monitor and support better long-term results. And researchers need to
understand the needs of on-the-ground managers.

Information flow is bi-directional and this is a "win-win" situation
because some interesting research questions will come from managers in
the field and performance measures and research strategies can be more
easily documented by research that answers existing needs of managers.

And finally, I really think that **Team Tamarisk: Cooperating for
Results** will offer us a model for dealing not only with tamarisk but
other invasive species. There is no doubt that we will learn a lot about
tamarisk here, but will we also learn about partnership, sharing
information, measures of success, speaking a common language, and
marrying science and field applications. Many of the guiding principles
will be adaptable to additional challenges we face as land managers,
scientists, and stewards of natural and agricultural resources.

Now let me tell you a little about Tim Carlson. Tim Carlson is the
Executive Director of the Tamarisk Coalition, a non-profit alliance of
stakeholders throughout the West working to restore riparian lands
impacted by invasive plant species---especially our identified foe\--
*Tamarix*. His work includes coordinating with organizations,
landowners, and state and federal agencies in the development of
long-term management and funding strategies for tamarisk control.

Tim is currently working closely with Interior and USDA scientists and
policy staff, universities, and Congress to develop strategic approaches
to tamarisk control and the reestablishment of native vegetation to
improve water resources, wildlife habitat, and biodiversity.

Thank you for your attention, and now let me turn things over to Tim
Carlson.

\[When Tim is finished with his talk, introduce Erika.\]

Erika Zavaleta is an assistant professor in the department of
environmental studies at the University of California. She has a Ph.D.
in biological sciences from Stanford University. Erika has published
extensively in journals, media, and books on invasive species and
related ecological and economic issues. She is a current holder (through
2006) of a National Science Foundation Grant and has won many academic
grants and awards.

Her teaching experience includes a graduate research seminar on ecology
and society.