Brighton – The Chinese immigrants started their journey Sunday, traveling via truck from Lovelock, Nev., to Fort Collins in climate-controlled comfort.
Their hosts in Fort Collins made sure they had a nice dinner before reaching their final destination – a shady spot by the Platte River.
Then on Tuesday, it was time for the 2,400 saltcedar leaf beetles to start their first day of work in Adams County, devouring 5 acres of tamarisk, a water-sucking noxious weedy shrub plaguing much of the West.
The corn-kernel-size beetles are part of a seven-state release program that began this week, aimed at biologically controlling tamarisk, also known as salt cedar.
Tamarisk was first brought to the United States more than 150 years ago from central Asia. It has spread through the West, sucking up stream water and choking out native plants.
In Colorado, the beetles were released in Adams, Yuma and Mesa counties.
“It’s a fairly slow process,” said Andrew Norton, a Colorado State University pest ecology and management assistant professor. “We really don’t expect to see dramatic results in the first year, but hopefully by year two or three.”
Although the Adams County release area is the smallest of the three in Colorado, much is riding on the site, a former gravel pit, county officials say.
The county acquired the site near Brighton and hopes to turn it into public open space someday.
But first, it must get rid of the tamarisk that’s choking the banks of the Platte River, preventing access to future fishing holes and boat launch sites.
“This is not just a western Colorado problem,” said Kelly Uhing, Adams County weed-control specialist. “It’s here, too.”
Scientists involved with the beetle release believe the insect may be the best bet for controlling tamarisk – it’s less labor-intensive than chopping the shrubs down and safer than herbicides.
Still, they acknowledge there is a risk in unleashing a non-native species on another non-native species in an effort to control it.
Also, since the beetles eat only the foliage, landowners will have to figure out a way to remove the salt-cedar stumps.
Still, curious ranchers are seeking beetles for their own land, Adams County cooperative extension agent Thad Gourd said.
“Everyone is looking for a silver bullet,” he said. “We tell them, at this point, we’re just not sure what the beetle can and cannot do.”
Until the scientific verdict is in on the beetle, Adams County will continue to use herbicides and chain saws to control salt cedar, Uhing said.
“I think when we look at these 5 acres we can start to wonder ‘What if?’ ‘What if we do nothing?”‘ Gourd said. “I don’t think anyone here is willing to take that chance.”
Staff writer Kim McGuire can be reached at 303-820-1240 or kmcguire@denverpost.com.
