Photo courtesy of Daly Edmunds.

Photo courtesy of Daly Edmunds.

Prevent the Spread of Invasives in Your Backyard

Cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses, such as medusahead and ventenata, are taking over sagebrush rangelands, increasing wildfire size and frequency, threatening wildlife habitat and rural economies. Efforts to control invasive annual grasses are too often exclusively reactive where invasive infestations are already extensive, at relatively small scales, and without sufficient regional context for long-term success. The NRCS-sponsored Idaho Cheatgrass Challenge is an excellent example of a proactive strategy for halting the conversion of sagebrush rangelands to annual grasslands. Other states are in the process of developing initiatives as well.  

Here are some of the most important actions landowners and managers can take: 

Prevention: Keep weed seeds out.

Early detection/rapid response: Monitor for and eradicate early infestations.

Roadside management: Manage invasive annuals along roadsides and other travel corridors.

Click here to access this factsheet from the Idaho Cheatgrass Challenge.

Click here to access this factsheet from the Idaho Cheatgrass Challenge.

Neighbor-up: Work with your neighbors to treat weeds across fencelines over multiple years to ensure eradication.

Perennial plant release: Apply herbicide to control annual grasses and release desired perennials.

Post-fire/disturbance rehabilitation: Act quickly to address weeds after wildfire and ground disturbance.

Fine fuels reduction: Use grazing and strategic fuel breaks to reduce annual grass fuels and fire risk. Be alert to invaded areas among grazing rotations between winter and summer pastures or with cattle movement.

Restoration: Revegetate degraded lands to desired perennial plants.

Perennial grass maintenance: Use grazing strategies that promote perennial grass health and minimize ground-disturbing activities that remove perennials.

Keep pockets isolated: Avoid connecting invaded and uninvaded areas with trails, roads or fuelbreak.

 

Significant additional technical and financial resources exist at the national, regional, and local levels to assist landowners and managers, including:

  • Contact your local county weed district, conservation district, or extension agent. There are significant resources available to address invasive weeds specific to your area.

  • Map of Cooperative Weed Management Areas: These management areas are partnerships of federal, state, and location government agencies, tribes, individuals, and various interested groups that manage invasive species in a defined area.

  • Science Framework for Conservation and Restoration of the Sagebrush Biome, Part Two: See the general management strategies for cheatgrass and other invasives based on the invasion state in this framework in tables 5.1 and 5.2. These management strategies are based on the level of invasion for cheatgrass, but many of the concepts also apply to annual and perennial invasive forbs.

  • Putting Resilience and Resistance Concepts into Practice: This factsheet is designed to assist land managers in using resilience and resistance concepts to assess risks, prioritize management activities, and select appropriate treatments.

  • Rangeland Analysis Platform (RAP): The RAP can be used to provide strategies to improve productivity of grazing lands, manage weeds, mitigate impacts of wildfire and drought, and benefit wildlife habitats.

  • National Invasives Species Council (DOI): The NISC provides the vision and national leadership necessary to coordinate, sustain, and expand federal efforts to safeguard the interests of the United States from the negative impacts of invasive species.

  • National Invasive Species Information Center (USDA): The NISIC is a reference and educational gateway to information, organizations, and services about invasive species.

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