This cooperative agreement will fund an affiliated partner within the Rocky Mountains Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit to study the invasive grass-fire cycle in eastern sagebrush grasslands. The project will map where invasive grasses and wildfire interactions occur and identify effective management strategies, in collaboration with resource managers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Wyoming Department of Agriculture. The expected outcome is actionable science to guide post-fire interventions and improve wildfire resilience and natural hazard preparedness.
The spread of invasive grasses, such as cheatgrass, adds fine fuels to the landscape that increase wildfire occurrence and frequency. Following a fire, invasive grasses regrow quickly, typically outcompeting native plants and perpetuating what is known as the invasive grass-fire cycle. This cycle has been well documented in western portions of the sagebrush biome, such as the Great Basin, but there are only limited studies within the eastern portion of the biome.
Some of these studies have shown that native grasslands in eastern portions of the Northern Great Plains may be more fire-adapted and less prone to this cycle. This means that management practices used in the Great Basin may be ineffective, or even determinantal, in the Great Plains. Focusing on the eastern portion of the sagebrush biome, this project will collaborate with resource managers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Wyoming Department of Agriculture to map the presence and extent of the invasive grass-fire cycle in native grasslands and identify effective management strategies.
Improved understanding of the invasive grass-fire cycle in the region will enable managers to determine where to target post-fire interventions to limit the spread of invasive grasses, and where interventions are not needed. By supporting risk-informed approaches for the management of invasive grasses that contribute to wildfires, this work enhances community resilience to wildfires, consistent with the goals of EO 14308 Empowering Commonsense Wildfire Prevention and Response (June 12, 2025) and EO 14239 -Achieving Efficiency Through State and Local Preparedness (March 19, 2025). Projects supported under this cooperative agreement should advance Administration priorities, including, but not limited to, American energy dominance, critical mineral development, water security, infrastructure resilience, and natural hazard preparedness.
Research and activities may incorporate scientific expertise in areas such as hydrology, geology, geospatial science, biosecurity, and near-earth space science, including extreme events such as drought, flooding, wildland fire, coastal erosion, severe storms, and geologic hazards, to develop actionable science, data, and tools that support informed decision-making by resource managers and stakeholders.