[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 149 (2003), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20844]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        IN RECOGNITION OF RACHEL M. CLEMENTS AND LEAH M. CROWDER

 Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, today I recognize the hard work 
and inquisitive spirit of two young New Mexicans: Rachel Clements and 
Leah Crowder. These two home-schooled eighth graders from Albuquerque, 
NM, captured top honors at the Northwestern New Mexico Regional Science 
Fair for their project: ``The Effect of Bosque Fires on Saltcedar 
Growth.''
  As we all know, science fairs are held every year, in nearly every 
part of the Nation. Likewise, there are many remarkable projects 
exhibited at these events. The Clements-Crowder project focused on a 
scientific issue that is of great concern to New Mexico: the tamarisk 
plant, also known as saltcedar. They conducted their study over the 
span of 2 years, and their results are noteworthy.
  On the west side of the Rio Grande, Rachel and Leah enthusiastically 
sought to understand how cottonwood canopies affect saltcedar growth 
and explore the usefulness of prescribed burning as a means of 
eradication. Their findings showed that more saltcedars grew in burned 
than in unburned areas. The results of their project reinforce the 
necessity of moving quickly to restore the hundreds of acres of the 
Bosque that were recently burned.
  While visiting our Nation's Capital this past month, they were kind 
enough to share their findings with me. While further study is 
necessary to verify them, their conclusions add to the knowledge 
necessary to deal with this threat to our water. This is the sort of 
information that I hope my bill, the Saltcedar Control Demonstration 
Act, will uncover and put to use. We must discover the best ways to 
eradicate this invasive species, as it will help New Mexico to conserve 
its most precious resource, water.
  As those of us who reside in the Southwest are well aware, water is 
scarce. On the other hand, saltcedar is an exotic, invading water 
thief. The majority of the large rivers and tributaries within the 
State have become overrun with saltcedar which drives out desirable 
vegetation and reduces the ability of riparian areas and waterways to 
provide habitat diversity for wildlife. These invaders must be dealt 
with decisively and quickly.
  Through their curiosity and keen sense of purpose, Rachel and Leah 
have provided insight into a devastating problem for New Mexico. In a 
sense, they have issued an even bigger challenge to address the 
saltcedar problem. I am proud of these two young people, and I salute 
their pursuit of knowledge.

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