Font ResizeMESILLA - The trails at Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park are closed weekdays through early February during a wetlands restoration project to remove salt cedar from the riparian area. At least one of the park's two trails will be open to the public on Saturdays and Sundays, but both trails will close Monday through Friday until Feb. 11.
"This project is a huge leap forward in attaining the park's goals," said Park Manager Jan Kirwan. "This is in keeping with our mission to restore the park as a remnant of the original lower Rio Grande bosque ecosystem."
The trails are closed for public safety concerns because they bisect the area where the work is taking place. State Parks contracted with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to bring in a salt cedar eradication crew that will employ heavy equipment to extract the trees from the roots and pile the material in windrows.
State Parks personnel will process the wood waste using chainsaws and a wood chipper. The larger pieces of salt cedar will be cut into firewood for use by the Friends of Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park to benefit the park. The remaining brush will be chipped and any unusable material will be disposed of at the Las Cruces landfill and recycled. Salt cedar removal will provide an opportunity for the reintroduction of native vegetation to the area, much of which is likely to occur naturally.
Sun-News reports
