Funds will be used to actively manage invasive species on public and private land in wyoming

The U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service awarded the Wyoming Department of Agriculture a $100,000 Project Grant under the Forest Health Protection program (CFDA 10.680) on September 16, 2025, with a completion date of December 31, 2027. This award funds active management and monitoring of invasive annual grasses on both public and private lands throughout Wyoming, with particular emphasis on early detection and rapid response efforts in southwestern Wyoming. The project expands the Institute for Managing Annual Grasses Invading Natural Ecosystems (IMAGINE) Monitoring Network's surveillance capabilities to enhance proactive management of invasive annual grasses and other invasive plant species within the largest intact sagebrush core ecosystem in the region.

The funded activities include enhanced monitoring support infrastructure, treatment coordination services, and field management efforts designed to detect and respond rapidly to invasive species threats. These services target the preservation and restoration of Wyoming's critical sagebrush ecosystem by preventing the establishment and spread of invasive vegetation that threatens native plant communities and forest health across the state's non-federal lands.

The institute for managing annual grasses invading natural ecosystems (imagine) monitoring network is expanding our monitoring efforts of invasive annual grasses throughout wyoming with an emphasis on early detection and rapid response in southwest wyoming. This project will enhance our monitoring support and treatment coordination in the largest intact sagebrush core of the biome in southwestern wyoming, facilitating proactive management of invasive annual grasses and other invasive plant species.