South Park Neighborhood Association

Invasive Grasses Are Fire Danger

Fire Danger

Two introduced African grasses, buffelgrass and fountain grass, are invading your neighborhood, increasing fire danger around homes and along roadsides. Everyday vehicular traffic spreads their seed into and out of your neighborhood, throughout the city and into natural desert areas. Our desert vegetation evolved without fire, so undeterred spread of these grasses and associated fires will compromise our unique Tucson landscape. Can you imagine Tucson with frequent grass fires and fast-dwindling numbers of saguaros and paloverdes? To protect your own neighborhood and the desert we live in, we urge you to act now! Eradication of these grasses won't be easy. Buffelgrass is being planted in Sonora and Texas for cattle forage and fountain grass is widely planted as an ornamental grass.

What Can We Do About It?

If we don't take action, the Sonoran Desert will be profoundly altered or disappear altogether. Unique species like sagauros and paloverdes, as well as the wildlife that depend on them, will be lost. Brush fires will increase, not only in natural areas but also in urban and suburban areas. Be a good neighbor and remove these grasses from your yard, medians and roadsides before they can spread. Raise awareness: talk to your friends, neighbors and coworkers about the threat. Encourage state and local governments to eradicate these species on public lands, roadsides and right-of-ways.

How do I Get Rid Of These Grasses?

Pull them out! Make sure to get the whole plant or they'll come back. A pry bar is useful for this purpose. Herbicides such as Roundup can be very effective when used properly, but you must spray the plant when it is actively growing and green. Wait a few months and repeat your chosen method until no more seedlings are observed.