Resilient Habitats: Restoring the Landscape for Big Game and the Local Economy. Resilient wildlife populations require a resilient habitat. Treating and protecting the habitats of big game like mule deer, elk and bighorn sheep in the intermountain states is happening thanks to a collaborative effort among multiple local, state and national agencies. The work is worth it: Reducing cheatgrass allows native plants to thrive, reducing the risk of wildfires and bringing big game back to the area. The Importance of Big Game to the Local Economy Idaho’s Salmon River Valley demonstrates the interconnectedness of the environment and the economy in the intermountain states. Tourism, hunting, and outdoor recreation, along with ranching, play vital roles in the region’s financial stability. Healthy big game populations drive tourism dollars through hunting seasons, and all sectors benefit when wildlife flourishes. Jared Meyers, Weed Specialist at the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Challis Field Office, emphasized the importance of maintaining this balance. “When you have a tourist-based economy, if the ecosystem isn’t healthy, then the community suffers,” Meyers noted. “Hunters come here for the big bucks, but if the forage is depleted, the animals won’t stay, and the hunters won’t come either.” All animals, whether grazed by ranchers, prized by hunters or appreciated by tourists, benefit from intact landscapes. “What’s good for wildlife is good for grazing lands,” said Jessie Shallow, Partnership Wildlife Biologist for the Mule Deer Foundation (MDF) and Idaho Fish and Game (IDFG). She evaluates the landscape from multiple points of view as a shared resource between multiple agencies. The Threat of Cheatgrass and Wildfires The biggest threat to the Salmon River Valley’s native landscape is invasive cheatgrass, which competes with native plants essential for big game forage and doesn’t provide the long-term nutritional value that mule deer and other wildlife need. Rosana Rieth, Conservation Team Lead for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), compares cheatgrass to junk food. “It’s like feeding animals doughnuts,” she said. Cheatgrass also exacerbates the threat of wildfires. “Cheatgrass burns hotter and more frequently,” Rieth explained, adding that once native plants like sagebrush burn, they often can’t recover without human intervention. This creates a dangerous cycle where cheatgrass fuels fires, and the fires, in turn, create more fertile ground for cheatgrass to grow.
Collaboration Is Key to Restoration Restoring the landscape and mitigating these risks requires a multi-agency, collaborative approach. The BLM, NRCS, MDF, and IDFG have joined forces, combining their expertise and resources to manage the weed problem across large areas of land. “It’s like winning a war,” said Shallow. “You need to attack from all angles, and you can’t do it alone.” Each organization plays a unique role in the battle against cheatgrass and invasive weeds. The NRCS focuses on private lands, the BLM on federal lands, and the Mule Deer Foundation can work across both. “But if you have to seed because there’s enough disturbance in the landscape, then we’re using Milestone and imazapic,” she added. Meyers noted that the effectiveness of these herbicides is impressive. “We’ve seen 50 years of cheatgrass growth wiped out with minimal impact on native plants,” he said. The key is using herbicides that don’t harm native vegetation, which allows the ecosystem to recover more naturally.
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