Eradication efforts are underway in Trinidad for vast swaths of invasive plant species that threaten to choke out the native riparian plant life of the Purgatoire River. Tackling Tamarisk on the Purgatoire, part of the Purgatoire River Watershed Woody Invasive Removal Project, is a multi-phase project aimed at removing such invasive species as the tamarisk and Russian olive in order to facilitate the development of the river area for recreational purposes.
The main stem of the Purgatoire River flows from Culebra Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains through Trinidad and on to the county’s northeastern quadrant where it joins the Arkansas River.
The project’s origins stretch back to about five years ago with the Trinidad Community Foundation (TCF) and has grown since to include a multitude of active and supporting partners such as Trout Unlimited, The Nature Conservancy, the Spanish Peaks-Purgatoire River Conservation District, the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the City of Trinidad, the Tamarisk Coalition, private landowners and host of other agencies and groups. “We were talking about how the Purgatoire River, from the dam all the way through the town, was a very under-utilized resource. When the (TCF) got together, one of the tenants of their reason for being was recreation within the area,” TCF and Purgatoire Anglers chapter of Trout Unlimited member Howard Lackey said. “I took the project with the river as kind of our banner project for recreation.”
Thanks to Coyote Gulch for the link! http://coyotegulch.wordpress.com/
