GREEN BEAT LANGLEY: The beautiful art of restoration
Published 3:00 pm Saturday, August 8, 2026
Ecological restoration is often seen as more of an art than a science.
Just as the mysterious artistic process can be spellbinding, the work of restorationists can also be a wonder to observe.
One morning, on my sabbatical in Las Cruces, New Mexico, I visited the La Mancha Wetlands Restoration project and stopped to chat with two volunteers doing restoration work there.
I was impressed to hear that the volunteers had been at it for weeks removing cattails by hand, one at a time.
Their plan was not to remove every last cattail (incidentally cattails are a native species), but clear enough to make for a more open wetland to attract more waterfowl.
After walking around the site and taking in the myriad flora and fauna at the La Mancha Wetlands site, including lizards, rabbits, birds, dragonflies, and butterflies, I met up with one of the volunteers again.
I casually asked him what he was working on.
In his reply he said the magic words: “salt cedar.”
From his response I knew right away this would lead to a much longer conversation.
Salt cedar, or tamarisk, was the plant I’d come to New Mexico to study.
In fact, after talking to the volunteer, Dale Lindeman, that day, I later reviewed some of his project planning materials, did lunch with him, and enjoyed many more conversations.
As inherently fascinating as my academic project on salt cedar was, Dale’s passion for dealing with salt cedar at the La Mancha Wetlands Restoration site was a whole other thing.
Literally millions of dollars have been spent managing salt cedar across the western U.S., where the invasive plant now occupies an estimated five million square miles.
Yet many have questioned control efforts are worth the huge cost, and even whether it should be controlled because with human alteration of waterways and the current mega-drought, salt cedar grows better than most native species.
However, as a volunteer with limited resources, working in a relatively wet area where native species can be nurtured, Dale takes a more down-to-earth approach.
He is working to girdle the salt cedar trees, one at a time, using saws and other hand tools.
Many of the trees he has girdled still sport green branches, illustrating how challenging it is to deal with this plant.
Still, it is clear he is making a difference and enjoys spending long hours at that beautiful spot practising the art of restoration.
– David Clements PhD, is a professor of biology and environmental studies at Trinity Western University
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