Managing Downy Brome (Bromus tectorum) in the Central Rockies: Land Manager Perspectives

Abstract

AbstractSuccessful management of downy brome (also known as cheatgrass) requires understanding land managers' perceptions and decisions about whether to invest in its control. We investigated ranchers' and natural resource professionals' (NRPs) perceptions and knowledge about downy brome ecology and its impacts, their current downy brome management practices and satisfaction with those practices, and their information and technical needs using focus groups and a mail survey of ranchers and NRPs in Colorado and Wyoming. Both groups thought downy brome was a problem, and perception of the severity of downy brome corresponded to the level of infestation in the respondent's region. NRPs identified downy brome as a bigger problem than did ranchers from the same area in all but one region. Ranchers were most likely to use early spring grazing to control downy brome, and NRPs were most likely to use seeding, imazapic herbicide, or a combination of methods. Both groups reported that the primary constraint to controlling downy brome was that other weeds were a higher priority. Ranchers and NRPs wanted more information about the control methods they were already likely to use as well as other downy brome control methods. Our findings suggest that (1) listing a species as a noxious weed may provide an important incentive to control it, but trade-offs among control efforts for different species must be carefully considered; (2) managers need to know more about low-cost, low-labor strategies for managing downy brome; and (3) some managers need to be informed about how to identify downy brome, its potential negative effects, and how to prevent its spread. Better quantification of the economic and ecological impacts of downy brome in the Central Rocky Mountains, continued development of effective and economically viable management methods, and improvement in the dissemination of that information to land managers are necessary for successful control of downy brome.