Oregon’s Rangelands Stand to Benefit From New Leadership in the War on Annual Grasses

A creeping tide of invasive grass turns landscapes into tinderboxes and threatens ranchers' livelihoods. These unwelcome invaders dominate millions of acres, creating a monoculture that fuels intense wildfires and degrades the sagebrush biome. The scale of the problem is daunting, but a strategy is emerging, spearheaded by Mark Porter in his newly created role of Rangeland Health Specialist with the Oregon Department of Agriculture. Many people find the scale of the problem so overwhelming that it is challenging to think beyond a see-weeds spray-weeds mentality, but that isn't Porter's feeling.

Mark Porter works for the Oregon Dept. of Agriculture in Enterprise Oregon in a newly created role, Rangeland Health Specialist.

Whether you look through a lens of wildlife biology, wildfire resilience, livestock production, or rangeland health, the replacement of deep-rooted perennials by invasive annuals presents a staggering change to the ecosystem.

Ventenata and medusahead are B-listed species in Oregon, which means that ODA recognizes these species have significant impacts, but there are not enough resources to eradicate them. When eradication is off the table, but the problem is festering across millions of acres, it requires a vision. When ODA's noxious weed program and the native plant program came under the management of Troy Abercrombie, it allowed a vision to emerge through his experience as the program lead for native plants and noxious weeds. He saw the value of elevating native species while keeping the invaders at bay. “The weed problem cannot be solved in isolation; it requires restoration and monitoring in addition to herbicide and biocontrol application.” Abercrombie worked to create a position uniquely focused on taking time to assess work from across Oregon's rangelands and making recommendations to target treatments. ODA is a granting entity that passes money to counties, Cooperative Weed Management Areas, and other entities to treat noxious weeds. That program created an extensive network of people who can share their experiences and inform meaningful long-term goals based on the successes and failures of their treatments.

The vision of targeting investments to improve rangeland health is not held by ODA alone. In 2021, Oregon created the Natural Working Land Fund, which focuses on increasing the carbon sequestration and storage capacity of Oregon's rangelands. The primary way of achieving this is through reducing annual grass cover and maintaining deep-rooted perennials. When the state sought a partner to lead the effort, ODA's experience with invasives made them a natural fit. NRCS matched this investment because it mirrored their need to invest limited funds in a way that makes a difference beyond single properties. This fall, an additional position will be added in the sagebrush region of the state to generate additional capacity for developing funding proposals, serving as a liaison to federal agencies, and providing technical assistance to landowners.

This spring, Mark is on the road visiting projects and asking partners to share their experiences to inform his strategy, which will guide spending and treatments in the coming decades. If you have places or experiences you want to share, you can reach Mark at Mark.Porter@oda.oregon.gov.