"Invasive Grass, Fire a Deadly One-Two Punch for Sage Grouse"

"MINIDOKA, Idaho -- Invasive cheatgrass is overtaking native plants, priming this semiarid desert for fiercer and more frequent wildfires. The big loser in this ecological coup occurring throughout the Great Basin: the greater sage grouse.

It started here several years ago when a lightning-sparked fire ripped through 48,000 acres on this basalt lava plain, torching sagebrush and native bunch grasses. The blaze transformed habitat for the boisterous bird and let in cheatgrass, an opportunistic weed that thrives in disturbed landscapes."

Phil Taylor reports for Greenwire July 8, 2015.