The Fight to Eradicate Saltcedar Continues on the Powder River

The Sheridan County Weed and Pest is still fighting to eradicate an invasive species along the Powder River. At first glance, a saltcedar shrub looks innocent enough. The ornamental plant has bright, colorful leaves and can grow upwards of 10 feet tall. What many don’t realize is that saltcedar is a feisty, invasive shrub originally found in Central Asia. Saltcedar has no natural predators and thrives in areas where water levels are high.

Walker Billings, supervisor for Sheridan County Weed and Pest District, describes the shrub

He talked about what the shrub does to the water source that it grows near,

The shrub wreaks havoc on native plants and vegetation, especially along riverbeds where water is readily available,” said Walker Billings, “A saltcedar shrub can absorb 200 gallons of water per day. In addition, it pulls salt from the soil and accumulates the salt in it’s leaves, then drops the leaves each fall, and the salt is deposited on the soil surface which discourages the growth any other desirable plant, which is another way it out competes with other plants.”

Billings added that the shrub doesn’t offer any feed for livestock or wildlife either.

What makes saltcedar difficult to kill is the plant’s tap root, which is a large, long root that grows straight down into the ground. Some tap roots can grow up to 6 inches in diameter, which makes it challenging to cut and treat with herbicides.

Powder River near Arvada

The Sheridan County Weed and Pest District has been battling the invasive shrub since 2007 and the campaign continues today along the Powder River. They are currently working south of Arvada heading downriver, starting at the county line where the river flows north from Johnson County into Sheridan County. So far, the project area has covered approximately 10 river miles with ground coverage of 850 acres.

Saltcedar near Boysen Reservoir

The current project, which started in January and continues through March, uses a cut stump treatment to kill the shrub. Workers use a skid loader with a forestry mulcher to cut down the shrub, then herbicides are precisely applied to the freshly cut surface of the remaining stump. The plant is resilient to herbicides because of the long tap root, so the cut-and-spray approach must be repeated numerous times or the shrub will come back. A blanket spray or boom spray is ineffective – it requires a combination of cutting and spraying to ensure the herbicide is absorbed into the roots, killing the shrub for good.

If anyone has saltcedar on their property they can cut the shrub with a chain saw, and then immediately treat the stump with herbicide, that is available at low cost at the Weed and Pest office.

Winter is an ideal time to battle saltcedar because it limits damage to the ground, which attracts weeds and other non-desirables. The winter season also reduces the chance of workers inconveniencing landowners and hindering hunters during the spring and summer.

Russian Olives along Clear Creek

He added that while Russian Olive isn’t in the saltcedar program, but they do cut it out it if they find it along the Powder River. Russian Olive it is also an invasive species here, and Billings explains.

He added they can always use help.

“It can take years to fully eradicate a field of saltcedar shrubs,” Billings stated. “It takes a tremendous amount of time and resources to tackle this issue, that’s why we partner with a variety of organizations to share resources and expertise.”

Some of those organizations include: Wyoming Game and Fish, Wyoming Weed and Pest Council, Johnson County Weed and Pest, Clear Creek Conservation District, Sheridan County Conservation District and Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.