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Weed and Pest, conservation districts detail post‑fire rehabilitation and invasive annual‑grass response
Summary
Weed and Pest and conservation districts told lawmakers they plan large‑scale post‑fire treatments and reseeding after this summer's fires, highlighting the high cost of invasive‑grass control and the economic losses that unchecked cheatgrass and Ventenata can cause to agriculture.
Lindsay Woodward, Wyoming state Weed and Pest coordinator, and leaders from Wyoming's conservation districts briefed the Agriculture committee Aug. 28 on efforts to contain invasive annual grasses, manage noxious weeds and mount post‑fire restoration after a busy summer of wildfires.
Woodward said federal funding unpredictability hampered spring planning for emergency insect and invasive species work, but that agencies and districts have pivoted into fall treatments where possible. She said APHIS staffing shortages earlier in the season reduced the federal ability to perform adult grasshopper counts and to fund treatments — a serious problem if high grasshopper counts had materialized.
The presentation emphasized annual grass invasions (cheatgrass, Medusahead and Ventenata) and the cost of remediation. Woodward cited an economic impact study showing current agricultural losses from cheatgrass of about $32 million per year with a potential of $110 million annually if cheatgrass spreads to all suitable areas; Ventenata losses were estimated at $1 million per year currently and a potential $27 million per year if it spreads.
Ryan Fieldgrove, president of the Clear Creek Conservation District, described the response after the Hausdrough Fire (about 175,000 acres). He said district planners moved quickly because a preexisting local coordination group — involving Forest Service, NRCS, farm service and others — had prepared for post‑fire recovery. Projects under way or planned include aerial sagebrush seeding on priority nesting areas, reclamation of dozer firelines, installation of roughly 200 z‑dike structures to slow runoff and soil loss, and large‑scale herbicide treatments and reseeding to prevent invasive‑grass establishment.
Fieldgrove said the Wyoming Wildlife and Natural Resource Trust (WWNRT) provided about $12 million for the Clear Creek response and that the district will use those funds to treat roughly 80,000 burned acres for invasive annual grasses and to treat an additional 30,000 acres adjacent to burned areas.
Woodward noted pesticide registration fees fund a grant cycle: Wyoming charges $140 per product registration and those fees support UW extension pesticide education and grant allocations to districts. She said aerial herbicide application costs run around $14–30 per acre with chemical costs raising the overall treatment cost to roughly $90 per acre for large‑scale invasive annual‑grass treatment.
Why it matters: committee members raised concerns about property‑tax reductions and how lower mill levies for special districts may force districts to reduce cost share or scale back projects. Woodward said districts are heavily dependent on leveraged funding and that local mill levies and state grant pools are essential to attract matching federal and NGO dollars.
Ending: District leaders and Weed and Pest emphasized the long‑term nature of restoration, the need for reseeding windows and the cost of prevention versus the near‑impossibility of removal once invasives are established.
