SCWP Supervisor on invasive grasses: “It’s everyone’s problem” 

Supervisor of the Sheridan County Weed and Pest Control District, Walker Billings, made an appearance on Sheridan Media’s Public Pulse to discuss the district’s winter months and their plan for getting ahead of the invasive weeds and grasses that may result from the Elk Fire. 

Billings said it was the most asked question of the district during winter months; what do Weed and Pest District employees do when snow covers the landscape? 

W. Billings

But it’s not all memorandums of understanding and emails during the winter months at the district. District employees take advantage of the cold months to perform some removals throughout the county that would regularly be too destructive to the surrounding environment. 

W. Billings

Billings and his team have been discussing their strategies and plans to address real concerns that many in the state have regarding the invasive plant life that can take root after last year’s intense wildfires. 

W. Billings

According to Billings, many of these invasive plants may not begin to grow in great numbers this year. Both the Remington and Elk Fires burned hot enough it may take a few growing seasons for even invasive plants to take root, but the Weed and Pest District want to evaluate the situation, establish areas of concern and prepare treatments that will prevent the spread of invasive species. Although firelines are an excellent strategy to prevent the spread of wildfires, the technique has potential to spread invasive plants for great distances. Billings and his team will be examining and monitoring these areas over the next few years.

In December of 2024, University of Wyoming agricultural economists and invasive weed specialists released a report on the economic impacts of 10 invasive weeds in the Cowboy State. Of the 10 weeds included in the study, cheatgrass poses the most economically damaging current and future threat to Wyoming agriculture. The authors estimate that the weed’s future impact may exceed $110 million annually if left unmanaged. And cheatgrass isn’t even the top concern of Billings and his team. He worries more about ventenatta and medusa head. 

According to Billings, these and other findings included in the report reaffirmed his belief that invasive grasses in Wyoming are everyone’s problem.