MOOSE, Wyo. — Grand Teton National Park (GTNP) has shared that its vegetation management specialists are continuing their work to replace approximately 4,500 acres of non-native grass fields with native sagebrush habitat, a ongoing project in the park that began in 2007.
Work this summer will focus on a 40-acre area located in the Slough South unit west of Mormon Row. The Park has also been restoring sagebrush habitat on a 110-acre site located in the McBride unit south of the Jackson Hole Airport and east of North Spring Gulch Road. This restoration project specifically aims to restore vital sage grouse habitat, as mitigated in the 2014 Jackson Hole Airport Wildlife Hazard Management Plan.
“A healthy sagebrush ecosystem in Grand Teton is vital for the diversity and abundance of native plants and wildlife species like elk, bison, moose, pronghorn and sage grouse that rely on them,” GTNP said in the announcement.
Once non-native grasses are successfully removed, park staff will disperse mixed seed made up of native grasses, shrubs and forbs, as well as monitor and treat for invasive weed species. This fall, park staff will seed 55 acres at McBride and 25 acres at Slough South.
GTNP says that more than one hundred years ago, homesteaders converted large swaths of sagebrush habitat to hayfields for their livestock. Over the past century, the converted pastures have persisted, decreasing the viability of wildlife habitat and migration corridors. Over the past 17 years, park staff have been working to restore these pastures to their original state. To date, 1,400 acres are in various stages of restoration.
