Cheatgrass and other invasive annual grasses, such as medusahead and ventenata, are taking over America’s sagebrush rangelands, increasing wildfire size and frequency, reducing forage productivity, and threatening wildlife habitat and rural economies. Efforts to control invasive annual grasses are too often done reactively where invasive infestations are already bad, at relatively small scales, and without sufficient regional context for long-term success.

Science shows that invasive species control is more effective and cost-efficient when done early, before infestations become widespread, and when management responses are informed by what’s going on in the surrounding landscape. With this in mind, Idaho partners have come together to devise a new statewide strategy that provides all-hands, all-lands vision for implementing the right actions, in the right places, at the right time.

Three coarse region types have been identified across rangelands in the state [Idaho]: 1) Core areas consisting of relatively low cover of annual grasses, 2) the Annual Grass Region dominated by moderate-to-high cover of annual grasses, and 3) Transition Zones representing areas between core area and the annual grass region.