saltcedar (tamarisk). Photo Courtesy ND Game and Fish Department

North Dakota Outdoors - Noxious Weeds

By Doug Leier, North Dakota Game and Fish Department

March 7, 2003 - I'd say most people are familiar with leafy spurge and associated problems with this noxious plant – from out-competing native and desirable grass species to the limited value it provides wildlife to the cost to control this thorn in North Dakota's side.

While commonly called a weed, this moniker doesn't do justice to the millions of dollars this invasive species has cost livestock producers and landowners in lost forage and chemical and biological controls used in fighting its expansion.

I'll never forget looking out over the valleys of Des Lacs near Minot and the Sheyenne north of Valley City. Beautiful picturesque valleys, the kind you see on postcards. Once lush, verdant terrains, however, turned into sick seas of yellow as leafy spurge took root and spread.

Landowners and land managers have rightfully invested time, money and other resources in a battle - greatly aided by biological agents like spurge-eating beetles that have shifted the balance in some areas back in our favor – that continues today.

Along the way, as CRP and land-idling programs reduced the amount of tilled acres, invasive plants such as thistle, wormwood and others have kept land managers busy – not planting crops, but fighting weeds.
Recently discovered in North Dakota and new to the noxious weed battle is saltcedar, or tamarisk, a plant many western states have been fighting for some time.

What is known about this invasive weed, which originated in Eurasia and Africa, is not good. Adult plants are deep-rooted water hogs that are tough on water supplies. If that's not bad enough in semi-arid country where water is precious, saltcedar emits a strong saline substance back onto the ground, making it difficult for native species to take root.

Saltcedar roots penetrate through the soil nearly fifty feet below, and the plant can reach a height of 16-feet tall.

Saltcedar was first found in North Dakota in 2001 near the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri rivers in North Dakota. Months later it was discovered in Sargent County on state-managed land in southeast North Dakota.

Unlike leafy spurge, the long-term affects of saltcedar expansion is unknown at this time. Land mangers elsewhere, who have battled with this noxious invader for years, say there is reason for concern.

Noxious weeds, both terrestrial and aquatic, eat money at the same rate they gobble up and destroy good habitat. Saltcedar is one of those invaders that, if you drag your feet, the problem can get out of hand.

When you're out driving and enjoying the summer, chances are you'll run across areas infested with spurge and thistle. And it's important to note the battle on these two fronts continue, while the battle against saltcedar is just beginning.

It's the hope of landowners, land managers and outdoor enthusiasts that by alerting the public to the saltcedars of the world – and how they can radically alter native landscape – the odds of winning the war against noxious invaders will tip in our favor.

Doug Leier is a biologist with the Game and Fish Dept in West Fargo. He can be reached via email: dleier@state.nd.us.