Saguaro NP Buffelgrass Management

Exotic invasive buffelgrass (Pennisetum ciliare), introduced to the American Southwest for cattle forage and erosion control beginning in the 1940s, is rapidly spreading across the Sonoran Desert, to which it poses an immediate threat. Buffelgrass alters natural ecological processes, competes with and excludes native plants, alters wildlife habitat, and increases the frequency of wildfires. Buffelgrass was recognized as a threat to Saguaro National Park in the early 1990s. In 2002, the park evaluated the cost and efficacy of different control techniques and has embraced integrated pest management applications, including the use of herbicides. When the grass is dormant, park staff and volunteers remove it by hand.