Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is widespread throughout western North America and is a significant concern for land managers conducting restoration treatments in southwestern ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper forests. It is common on a few restoration treatment areas in northern Arizona, on severely burned mature/old growth pinyon-juniper sites at Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado (Floyd et al. 2006), throughout wildfire areas in Zion National Park in southern Utah (U.S. National Park Service 2007), and on areas consumed by wildfire in northern Arizona (Sieg et al. 2003). There is concern that cheatgrass populations may expand further with an increase in the scale and frequency of restoration treatments in southwestern ponderosa pine and pinyon-juniper ecosystems.

Until recently, forest managers have largely ignored the value of maintaining dynamic spatial patterns in forested ecosystems. In the America Southwest, where the norm in overstocked forests that are extremely susceptible to catastrophic fires and/or insect infestations and disease, restoring a spatial pattern of openings and tree groups would help alleviate these threats and move the forests within their historic range of variability. This ERI working paper focuses on restoring a dynamic spatial pattern to ponderosa pine forests in the American Southwest. It also addresses basic questions that land managers and others have about how to restore active spatial patterns across the forested Southwest.

Annual weeds continue to expand throughout the West eliminating many desirable species and plant communities. Wildfires are now common on lands infested with annual weeds, causing a loss of wildlife habitat and other natural resources. Measures can be used to reduce burning and restore native plant communities, but restoration is difficult and costly.