�ʹ�����app����

Introduction

Image Details

The Tucson Basin is home to over 1 million people and iconic Sonoran Desert landscapes with myriad recreational opportunities that boost the regional economy. Buffelgrass is an invasive species invasive species
An invasive species is any plant or animal that has spread or been introduced into a new area where they are, or could, cause harm to the environment, economy, or human, animal, or plant health. Their unwelcome presence can destroy ecosystems and cost millions of dollars.

Learn more about invasive species that threatens these landscapes, and many scientists and citizens are concerned about the loss of native vegetation and wildlife habitat associated with its rapid establishment and spread. Since 2008, land managers in the Tucson Basin have worked together to strategically control and mitigate buffelgrass by prioritizing trans-jurisdictional collaboration and engaging residents and community decision-makers.

The Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center (SABCC) was established in 2008 to work on collaboratively addressing buffelgrass control and impacts. In 2016 SABCC dissolved and handed over its responsibilities to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, Pima Association of Governments, Tucson Clean and Beautiful, and Sky Island Alliance, which are strongly positioned to wage the battle over the long-term.

Key Issues Addressed

Buffelgrass, a drought-tolerant perennial bunchgrass, was introduced to North America for livestock forage and erosion control in the 1930s. It has aggressively spread in arid and semiarid regions such as the Sonoran Desert where it outcompetes native plants and poses significant ecological and economic threats. Unlike the typically sparse vegetation native to this region, buffelgrass provides a continuous fuelbed leading to more frequent and hotter fires. This altered fire regime further promotes buffelgrass establishment, while killing native vegetation such as iconic saguaros. Buffelgrass-fueled fires are a risk to private property and human safety, and the loss of iconic Sonoran Desert vegetation could have a significant impact on the tourist economy. The scale and trans-jurisdictional nature of buffelgrass invasion requires extensive collaboration and community involvement to strategically control invasion. 

Project Goals

• Educate and engage the public and decision-makers about buffelgrass impacts and control techniques
• Promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing across jurisdictional boundaries
• Implement treatments to strategically control existing infestations and minimize spread in areas where buffelgrass has not yet become established

Project Highlights

Volunteer Events: During the 2018 Beat Back Buffelgrass month, approximately 450 volunteers showed up across 30 different sites throughout the month. Of these, just over 190 had never pulled buffelgrass before and 127 were under the age of 18. 

• Spreading the Word: Project partners have implemented a public outreach strategy to educate the public on how buffelgrass impacts natural resources, human communities, and economies of the region. Outreach materials include brochures, handouts, social media pages, and videos that provide background information, native and invasive plant identification tips, and treatment technique information.
• Sustaining Volunteerism: For ten years, project partners have organized Beat Back Buffelgrass (BBBG) events, now known as Save Our Saguaros (SOS) Month, which convene hundreds of volunteers annually to pull buffelgrass throughout the Tucson region. In addition to BBBG/SOS, Saguaro National Park, as well as many private groups and neighborhood associations, organize buffelgrass removal events.
• Region-Wide Collaboration: The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum (ASDM) facilitates coordination among partners who share training opportunities and help with each other’s treatments. For example ASDM, NPS (Saguaro NP and Southwest Exotic Plant Management Team), Pima County, and the Arizona Native Plant Society helped with treatments on Tumamoc Hill, which is owned by the University of Arizona.
• Ongoing Coordination: Partners hold quarterly meetings to share information about treatment methods, success stories, funding opportunities, training, and to coordinate outreach efforts.
• Decision Support System: Researchers from the USGS developed a modeling tool for some of the partners that will help managers prioritize treatment areas and determine strategies. This tool can help answer questions related to the level of resources required to treat buffelgrass and prevent spread, and how resources should be allocated among inventory, treatment and maintenance. 

Lessons Learned

Image Details

Invasive species, like many modern environmental issues, are not restricted to jurisdictional boundaries. One agency or organization cannot tackle buffelgrass alone.

Community members and decision makers must be involved to effect real change. Therefore, land managers and scientists need to become better communicators and more comfortable working with decision-makers.

Community awareness and knowledge regarding buffelgrass has increased greatly in recent years. As a result, the number of local groups working on buffelgrass has increased, and critical partners have become more engaged including the City of Tucson and Arizona Department of Transportation.

Buffelgrass grows in difficult terrain, and some places may not be appropriate for the ‘average�� volunteer. More experienced, returning volunteers can guide new volunteers. It may seem daunting to some volunteers because buffelgrass is a large-scale problem that needs repeated follow-up. It is important to stress the long-term commitment needed to achieve success, and that each individual is contributing to that effort.

Currently, each partner uses their own data collection methods and data standards.  Partners have discussed ways to consolidate the data to give a broader view, but technical challenges still exist. 

Mechanical treatments (i.e., pulling) are effective, but labor-intensive. Herbicide treatments are also effective, but these must be applied during the active growing season, when temperatures are typically over 100^oF and assembling hardy, trained spray crews is difficult.

With any control method, re-treatment is necessary as plants resprout from incompletely removed plants or from the seed bank left in the soil. Adjacent untreated areas can also spread seed into treated areas, underlining the need for a coordinated regional control effort. Partners with experience in treatments help pass this information on to those new to the battle.

The Decision Support System model showed that without treatment, buffelgrass-invaded areas will increase substantially over the next 50 years, but with early and effective treatment this area could be dramatically reduced. A large up-front investment in inventory and treatment could reduce overall management costs.

It is important to consider how outreach messages affect public perception and involvement. The recent reframing of outreach messages to include “Save our Saguaros�� along with the original ”Beat Back Buffelgrass�� message provides a more positive and nuanced goal for potential volunteers that may be more appealing to the public at large.

Next Steps

• Continue to research effective control methods for a range of site conditions
• Add new tools to the toolbox, e.g., aerial ball spraying, recruit volunteers to improve early detection
• Promote long-term stewardship, for example, set up an “adopt-a-hill�� program where individual volunteers that can consistently follow-up in certain areas
• Refine a map app where people can easily report buffelgrass observations and treatments
• Find a method to integrate partner databases

Funding Partners

• Individual agencies and donors

Resources

• Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

Contacts

• Julia Rowe, Invasive Species Research Specialist,  [email protected]
• Perry Grissom, Fire Ecologist, Saguaro National Park, [email protected]

Case Study Lead Author

• Ashlee Simpson, CART Graduate Research Assistant, University of Arizona

Suggested Citation

Simpson, A. C. (2018). “Beat Back Buffelgrass: Trans-Jurisdictional, Volunteer-Driven Invasive Species Treatment.�� CART. Retrieved from /project/beat-back-buffelgrass.