Last Updated:
January 28, 2004
| The Bureau of Land Management (BLM), an agency of
the U.S. Department of the Interior, manages 264 million acres of
public lands found primarily in the Western United States, and a
total of 560 million acres of subsurface mineral estate located
throughout the country. Originally, the lands were valued
principally for the commodities extracted from them, including minerals
and livestock forage; today, the public also prizes them for their
recreation opportunities and the natural, historical, and cultural
resources they contain. Additionally, at a time of unprecedented
growth in the Western States, the public lands are one of the last
guarantees of open space, a key factor in the West’s lifestyle.
One of the BLM's highest priorities is to promote ecosystem health and one of the greatest obstacles to achieving this goal is the rapid expansion of weeds across public lands. These invasive plants can dominate and often cause permanent damage to natural plant communities. If not eradicated or controlled, noxious weeds will jeopardize the health of the public lands and the myriad of activities that occur on them. However, the BLM’s ability to respond effectively to the challenge of noxious weeds, depends on the adequacy of the agency’s resources. Although in recent years the BLM’s budget has increased slightly for weed management, the need to increase our efforts far exceed our current capabilities. To Find out more about the BLM, CLICK on the map. |
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| Why are invasive weeds a problem for the BLM?
Millions of acres of once healthy, productive rangelands, forestlands and riparian areas have been overrun by noxious or invasive weeds. They are invading recreation areas, BLM-managed public lands, National Parks, State Parks, roadsides, streambanks, Federal, state, and private lands. Invasive weeds:
The term "weed" means different things to different people. In the broadest sense, it is any plant growing where it is not wanted. Weeds can be native or non-native, invasive or non invasive, and noxious or not noxious. Legally, a noxious weed is any plant designated by a Federal, State or county government as injurious to public health, agriculture, recreation, wildlife or property. (Sheley, Petroff, and Borman,1999) A noxious weed is also commonly defined as a plant that grows out of place (i.e. a rose can be a weed in a wheat field) and is "competitive, persistent, and pernicious." (James, et al, 1991). Are invasive plants the same as noxious weeds? No. Invasive plants include not only noxious weeds, but also other plants that are not native to this country. The BLM considers plants invasive if they have been introduced into an environment where they did not evolve. As a result, they usually have no natural enemies to limit their reproduction and spread (Westbrooks, 1998). Some invasive plants can produce significant changes to vegetation, composition, structure, or ecosystem function. (Cronk and Fuller, 1995). References Cronk, Q., and J. Fuller. 1995. Plant Invaders: The threat to natural ecosystems. Chapman & Hall. New York James, L., J. Evans, M. Ralphs, and R. Child, editors.1991. Noxious Range Weeds. Westview Press. Boulder, CO. Sheley, R.,J. Petroff, M.. Borman, 1999. Introduction to Biology and Management of Noxious Rangeland Weeds, Corvallis, OR. Westbrooks, R. 1998. Invasive plants, changing the landscape of America: Fact book. Federal Interagency Committee for the Management of Noxious and Exotic Weeds (FICMNEW). Washington, DC. |
