Skip to content

Tamarisk Beetle Biocontrol Program Falls Short 

10.9.26 – Two decades ago, officials in Utah and Texas introduced Tamarisk Beetles to the environment as part of a biocontrol experiment meant to thin out the number of invasive tamarisk trees in their states. Today, those beetles have made a home for themselves along the Rio Grande in New Mexico. Freelance environmental journalist and NMiF Correspondent Elizabeth Miller takes us near La Joya, about an hour south of Albuquerque, to follow along with researchers who have been monitoring the beetles for years. This story comes courtesy, in part, of reporting Miller did for bioGraphic, an independent magazine that focuses on biodiversity and conservation around the world. 

Correspondent: Elizabeth Miller 

Producer: Antonio Sanchez 

Camera: 
Jonah McDonald 
Roger Torres 

Guests: 
Kim Eichhorst, Program Director, Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program 
Matt Leister, Science Director, Bosque Ecosystem Monitoring Program  
Matthew Johnson, Colorado Plateau Research Station Director 

For More Information: 
The Trouble with Tamarisk – bioGraphic