BLM OR/WA - North Warner Medusahead Control and Sage Grouse Habitat Improvement
The Lakeview BLM in cooperation with the Lake County Cooperative Weed Management Area has been actively surveying the North Warner Sage Grouse Project Planning Area through a past agreement through both aerial and ground based survey methods. The North Warner area covers 222,667 acres of checker boarded ownerships of BLM, USFS, Oregon Department of State Lands and private lands. To date surveys have taken place over 130,000 acres. The North Warner project planning area falls within the Lakeview BLM Resource Area and is approximately 50 miles Northeast of Lakeview on the eastside of the Warner Mountain range. Studies have shown invasions of annual grass species could easily degrade the habitat for sage grouse and other wildlife species. Medusahead Rye and other non-native winter annual grass species were discovered the summer of 2010. The infestations have been found on all four of the ownerships. The majority of the infestations are small isolated infestations that could effectively be managed though cooperative control efforts. The issue in the past has been the lack of effective herbicides available for use on BLM lands. However, the NEPA to allow the use of imazapic and other more effective herbicides has been completed and should be available for use by the fall of 2015. This project will allow continued coordination among all of the land managers in the North Warner area. One of the biggest needs is education for all of the land managers, which will improve accurate identification of the annual grass species invading the North Warner Area. Surveys will need to continue to cover the southern portion of the project area. Once the use of imazapic use is finalized, large scale cooperative projects can be planned across all of the jurisdiction boundaries. These large scale projects will entail a lot of coordination and planning.
Office: Bureau of Land Management
j1clark@blm.gov
