Unleashing the Science - BIL funds benefit wildlife habitat on BLM lands in northwest Nevada

Story by Jeff Fontana, Public Affairs Officer, Northern California District. Photos by A. Hedrick, BLM

Thousands of acres of important high desert wildlife habitat on BLM-managed lands in northwest Nevada, including sage-grouse and other sagebrush habitat, will undergo improvements thanks to partnerships, science-based research, and $500,000 from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

The BLM, in partnership with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, will restore more than 10,000 acres of public lands by removing invasive grasses, including cheatgrass, and replanting the areas with native and more fire-resilient grasses; shrubs; and leafy, flowering and herbaceous plants called forbs. 

The BLM is also restoring public lands invaded by annual grasses and impacted by wildfire to help speed up the long process of wildfire recovery.  

“This significant investment will improve plant diversity in sagebrush habitat, supporting a wider variety of wildlife,” said Dereck Wilson, BLM Northern California District Manager. “Reducing invasive grasses can also help reduce the severity of wildfires, which can spread rapidly when fed by large areas of dry plants such as cheatgrass.”

In burned areas, wildfires removed large swaths of sagebrush, bitterbrush, and other native plants critical for sage-grouse, a species of special concern, and larger animals including mule deer and pronghorn. This allows for invasive grasses to spread over large landscapes.

In other areas targeted for treatment, invasive grasses are crowding out important native plants, making the areas more susceptible to wildfire and less desirable for wildlife.

“Without restoration such as reseeding, these areas no longer support diverse, healthy wildlife populations and are less fire resilient than diverse landscapes with mixes of mature shrubs, grasses and forbs,” said Emily Ryan, BLM Eagle Lake Field Office Manager in Susanville, California.

According to the University of Wyoming’s and Colorado State University’s Cheatgrass Management Handbook, cheatgrass (or downy brome) is one of the most significant invasive weeds in the western United States because it reduces forage quantity and quality, alters wildfire regimes, impacts species diversity, and reduces wildlife habitat.  

Cheatgrass has been a problem in the western Great Basin since the late 1800s and early 1900s. Other invasive annual grasses, such as Medusahead Wildrye and Ventenata, are somewhat more recent in their expansion in the region.   

“The largest issue with invasive annual grasses is the way they influence the Great Basin's fire cycle, carrying fires farther and faster as they fill in the interspaces between native shrubs and perennial grasses,” said Ryan.

Public lands in the project areas are managed by the BLM California’s Eagle Lake Field Office in Susanville and the Applegate Field Office in Alturas. These areas are popular for hunting, camping, and grazing. They also support critical habitat for sage-grouse, other sagebrush obligate species, and wild horses and burros.

The projects continue a longstanding partnership between the BLM and the Nevada Department of Wildlife to improve habitat conditions.

This story is part of the “Unleashing the Science” series, showcasing how bureaus within the Department of the Interior produce and apply science to ensure responsible management decisions for our planet now and for the future.