Blaugust2026 Salt Cedar
Every one comments on this tree– with its feathery pink leaves hanging over the foot bridge entrance to Cole Park in Coulee Dam, just down the street from our house.
Today our neighborhood organized a block birthday party for our friend, Rob. And even there, neighbors asked, “What is that pink leaved tree?”
It’s a salt cedar or tamarisk tree. It’s a very showy tree from Eurasia. In Washington State it is an invasive tree. It takes over from native trees, and it has glands that release salt into the soil, which other plants do not like. It is a tree that can live near salt water. Recent studies have shown, though, that it’s not so much the tree that causes problems with salinity, it’s because of the lack of flooding when areas have flood controls. It’s probably evaporation that causes high increases of salinity.
I’ve lived here for over thirty-five years, and this particular tree is not spreading or causing problems for the other plants: it’s simply graced us with its feathery pink leaves.
Coulee Dam History
As noted, the tree is in Coulee Dam, which was once called Mason City. It sits in the shadow of Grand Coulee Dam, which began construction in 1934.
Mason City is the town the New Deal built. The east side of the river was for the workers– and the contractor hired by the federal government for the project built that side with small, nice houses for the workers and families. It was meant to show what can be done, instead of letting houses grow haphazardly like the town of Grand Coulee developed.
On the west side of the Columbia River, the contractor created a model town for the engineers, complete with beautiful, managed landscaping of that side of the town. As you can see in the photo: it is a beautiful treed city to this day. It also was built to show what could be done with progressive thinking and planning.
We love living here, and that salt cedar is one of the trees planted in the 1930s when the dam and the town were built. The town homes were sold to the public over a period of years in the 1950s, with the town of Coulee Dam incorporated in 1959.
The large green tree on the right by the green city shop is in our back yard. It is a huge American plane tree or sycamore, planted in 1934 when our house was built. The entrance to Cole Park is on the other side of that street– below the granite on the left.
Remember when our taxes were spent on programs that bring jobs and infrastructure? Coulee Dam is still a strong community, and it was the New Deal that provided the start for that success.
What is Blaugust?
Read the top of this post: Blaugust 2026 Starts with Wildfires.
I wonder, if I draw a line... 