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The Sagebrush Sea is a fire-adapted landscape that benefits from infrequent (35-450 year interval, depending on sagebrush type, elevation, aspect, etc.) low intensity fires that renew the ecosystem. Fire historically maintained a natural mosaic of habitats within the larger Sagebrush Sea, clearing woody shrubs and occasional juniper and pinyon trees and creating lush green meadows of native grasses and forbs amidst intermediate and late-succession stands of sagebrush that haven't burned in decades. Sage grouse, pronghorn, songbirds and myriad other Sagebrush Sea wildlife thrive in these mixed habitats.

Prescribed fire in sagebrush steppe -   Wyoming BLM, Buffalo Field Office

Unfortunately, a combination of fire suppression, livestock grazing and the spread of non-native weeds has drastically altered the natural fire regime. The natural mosaic of sagebrush habitats has changed, native grasses have retreated and juniper and pinyon trees have spread to areas where they previously did not occur. Extensive livestock grazing has removed grasses and other fine fuels that would naturally carry small, "cool" fires that cleanse the landscape. Natural fire does not easily ignite in these "cow-burned" areas. Paradoxically, in other places, native perennial grasses have been replaced by weeds (cheatgrass) or higher densities of sagebrush and the resulting thicket of vegetation can be highly flammable and burn far more frequently than under natural conditions.

Where wildfires do occur in sagebrush steppe, they tend to burn larger, hotter, and more frequently than ever before. In 1999 range fires burned 1.7 million acres in the Great Basin as flames raced across the landscape at over 40 miles per hour. Fires scorched 70 percent of Idaho's Big Desert in 2000. Little remains in the wake of these fires, and the burned areas are often vulnerable to invasion by cheatgrass, which can completely occupy a burned site, creating a cheatgrass monoculture that is worthless to wildlife.

Pierson, F. B., P. R. Robichaud, K. E. Spaeth, C. A. Moffet. 2003. Impacts of Fire on Hydrology and Erosion in Steep Mountain Big Sagebrush Communities in K. G.. Renard, S. A. McElroy, W. J., et al. (eds.). FIRST INTERAGENCY CONFERENCE ON RESEARCH IN THE WATERSHEDS; Oct. 27-30, 2003; Benson, AZ. U.S. Dept. Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.