by Linda Rundell, State Director, BLM-New Mexico

 

You read it right. And the invasion is becoming a serious problem. Ask folks in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming or Nevada if you don’t believe me. 

 

Our state is being invaded by a nefarious multi-talented exotic plant called cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) that seriously outcompetes native grassland species. If unchecked, it spreads rapidly and degrades our environment, affecting not just aesthetics but soil moisture, groundwater supplies, native fish, wildlife, and plant communities. 

 

Cheatgrass-dominated landscapes host hotter and more frequent wildfires, further degrading rangelands and reducing wildlife populations. It even converts ecosystems that are carbon ‘sinks’ (storing more carbon than they release) to carbon ‘smokestacks,’ increasing the amounts of greenhouse gases we must cope with. 

 

Steve Urquhart, a state representative in Utah calls cheatgrass “a 6’8”, 250-pound, tattooed, heavily-armed, escaped-from-death-row invasive species that is taking over the West,” since the fires it fuels wipe out other plants, furthering the spread of cheatgrass. Some exotic species are worse than others; cheatgrass is near the top of the bad list. So far 100 million acres of land in the West have been infested.

 

This invasion is occurring under the radar for most New Mexicans, hence this article. A native of Eurasia, cheatgrass has already taken over huge areas in states to the north and west of New Mexico. It’s starting to crop up here, especially in the northwestern part of our state.  Nationally, exotic and invasive species of all kinds damage or destroy as many acres of land each year as wildfire.

 

Cheatgrass can arrive by planes, trains and automobiles, and is further spread by heavy equipment used by developers, not to mention hikers or drivers touring our Land of Enchantment, plus livestock and big game. It came to the U.S. in the late 1800s in shipments of seed and grain but took a while to get going, kind of like the spread of starlings from Central Park in New York City.

 

Cheatgrass is a plant that grows, flowers, sets seed and dies every year. It’s a cool season grass that germinates in the fall and grows during the winter and early spring, well before our native grasses grow.  It dies in June, avoiding the hottest part of the summer. 

 

Because it develops large root systems in the spring, by the time native grass seedlings start to grow in April, cheatgrass has already stolen most of the water out of the top foot of soil. It also alters soil chemistry, further discouraging our natives. 

 

In the San Juan Basin, it’s starting to transform sagebrush ecosystems to eerie monocultures of flammable fire fuels. It’s also starting to be seen in the scenic slot canyons at Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. So far, it’s been recorded in 21 of New Mexico’s 33 counties.

 

So, why get so upset about a plant? Here’s why: in Utah, a blaze started this summer by a bolt of lightning charred 160,000 acres of cheatgrass-dominated grasslands in less than 24 hours and scorched another 200,000 acres before firefighters contained it.  Nowhere is the problem worse than in Nevada, where more than a million acres have already burned this year.

 

New Mexico is not nearly as infested as other Western states. But what can be done? Fight the good fight along with all the other good environmental fights we’re fighting?

 

Actually, yeah. 

 

In August 2007, the Governors of Idaho, Utah, Nevada and Wyoming agreed to develop a strategy for rehabilitating the millions of acres of rangeland burned this year by wildfires. They will organize volunteers to collect native grass seeds, and establish projects aimed at halting the replacement of native sagebrush and bunch grasses with cheatgrass.  And throughout the West, the BLM is participating in a native seed collection effort that’s part of a national “Seeds of Success” rehabilitation effort. 

 

The BLM, other agencies and universities are conducting research into control efforts, which will include a variety of approaches. One is to plow under cheatgrass before it seeds, followed by reseedings of native grasses. BLM is testing an herbicide called Plateau, which selectively kills cheatgrass especially when applied in the winter.  The Idaho Statesman recently reported that scientists at Gonzaga University are studying a naturally occurring fungus nicknamed “the black fingers of death,” that attacks cheatgrass seeds.

 

The BLM in New Mexico will use the results of this and additional research as part of its Restore New Mexico program, which focuses on restoring grasslands and watersheds dominated by exotic and invasive species – mesquite, creosote, salt cedar, and now cheatgrass – to a healthier and more productive state. The BLM will work with ranchers that use cheatgrass for grazing in the spring (the only time it has any value for cattle) to replace it with native species that will meet their need.

 

Our goal is to eradicate this pest throughout New Mexico. We owe it to ourselves, our fish and wildlife, our economic health, and our children.