Flooding of the access road to the Wolfe Ranch and Delicate Arch Trailhead at Arches National Park, such as this in October 2015, would be reduced through the removal of more than 100 acres of invasive tamarisk trees and the cleaning out of sediment-clogged channels, according to the NPS/NPS
Too much sediment and too many tamarisk trees are behind the frequent flooding that occurs in Salt Wash near the trailhead to Delicate Arch in Arches National Park, according to park staff, who are proposing to cure the problem by removing nonnative tamarisk from a 115-acre tract and cleaning out sediment-clogged drainages.
The proposal, open for public comment through November 16, would disrupt habitat for a number of migratory birds, but also would remove roughly one-third of all of the park's tamarisk and help restore Salt Wash to a more normal flow, an environmental assessment on the project said.
The project, with work occurring only during the winter months, could take three years to complete. The result would be a significant reduction in the frequency of flood events that lead to closures of the Wolfe Ranch/Delicate Arch Road, the EA said.
Aerial photography of the area, with shots dating to the mid-1950s, show how the growth of tamarisk has choked Salt Wash and turned what had been a single-channel stream into a braided system that contributes to the flooding, the EA said.
To accomplish the preferred alternative of removing the tamarisk and using heavy equipment to clear out sediment-clogged washes, there would be a sizeable impact on recommended wilderness in the park, the study stated. Across the 115-acre tract, there are about 54 total acres of tamarisk. But to remove the trees, much of that 115 acres could be impacted.
"The use of heavy equipment, construction noise, parking and staging areas, and the physical recontouring of the project site would have short-term negative impacts to wilderness," the EA said. "However, there would be long-term beneficial effects to wilderness character from the restoration of pre-disturbance hydrologic, geomorphologic, and wetland processes and habitats."
You can learn more about the project and its impacts to wildlife and fisheries at this site. And you can leave your comments there, as well, on the project.
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