Taking a Stand on Buffelgrass

Efforts to control the invasive species buffelgrass are expanding across the city of Tucson. The School of Natural Resources and the Environment is involved at several sites including Tumamoc Hill and the Santa Rita Experimental Range. SNRE research specialist, Travis Bean is orchestrating the removal of buffelgrass from Tumamoc Hill on the west side of Tucson.

The problem has galvanized these individuals and institutions because of the severity of the threat. Introduced intentionally in the 1940's as forage and to control erosion, today buffelgrass threatens native vegetation by making the desert more fire prone, and by crowding out native species.

Image: Mark Heitlinger

A variety of control methods have been tested, including pulling by hand and with machines, and using the herbicide  Round Up© which kills plants when they are actively growing in the summer monsoon season..

Control efforts are ongoing at the Santa Rita Experimental Range, the longest running site for monitoring and management of rangelands in the United States. Research Director at the Range and SNRE Professor Mitch McClaran has coordinated these continuing efforts. With the help staff, conservation corps crews, and volunteers, including undergraduates in the Tierra Seca Rangelands Club, large areas of the range have been treated to control buffelgrass.

Beyond these targeted efforts to control the species, a larger conversation centered on coordinating efforts and the mobilizating resources for buffelgrass control has begun. SNRE adjunct professor Julio Betancourt, with the Desert Laboratory on Tumamoc Hill, put together a video (below) to inform the public and pool resources in order to take the buffelgrass.

With the help of many partners, the School of Natural Resources and Environment's efforts to control the species are starting to show on the ground.