This park has a very aggressive program to control exotic plant species, particularly Tamarisk. Also known as Salt cedar, this aggressive shrub has impacted all the major river systems in the western United States. The Chihuahan Desert /Southern Shortgrass Prairie Exotic Plant Management Team has provided significant support for this project. As of June, 2004, all 350+ acres that originally infested the park had been eradicated.
Other weeds of concern on site are Russian knapweed, Canada thistle, Whitetop, Kochia, and Bindweed, but are controlled using Integrated Pest Management principles.
Did You Know?
Bent's Fort was on the boundary with Mexico in the 1830s and 1840s. It was 600 miles from the nearest town in Missouri.