LCE Buffelgrass Alert!
Buffelgrass Concerns and Plans
Tim Demers, LCE President
February 17, 2015
LCE residents have heard us talk about buffelgrass before. Sadly, it has not gone away, but
remains one of the top concerns of the LCE Board of Directors. Recent rains in our area have done
two things: made the ground softer to make it easier to dig out clumps of buffelgrass, and also
allowed buffelgrass clumps to green up, making them susceptible to weed killer such as round-up.
We urge you to take steps to remove all buffelgrass from your property. If you need help finding
landscapers who know how to deal with buffelgrass, we can put you in touch with several companies
who work in Cebadilla.
One of the problems we have in LCE is that some residents are very conscientious about
removing buffelgrass, but others have left it to multiply on their lots. Buffelgrass plants produce a
large number of seeds, and the seeds have an amazingly high germination success rate in our
desert. The seeds from a single plant can be blown to multiple lots, re-infesting lots that someone
worked hard to clear. The LCE board has arranged for a buffelgrass mapping survey to be
conducted of LCE, to identify the pockets of buffelgrass that are the worst. (Note: the survey will be
conducted from the road, and possibly trails, and will not be able to locate all buffelgrass on all
portions of our lots.) Once we have this information, we will be notifying the owners of the most
infested lots. If you already know you have a buffelgrass problem, you are encouraged, of course, to
remove it before we have the mapping survey done.
Pima County has an ordinance identifying buffelgrass as a noxious weed, and providing for
penalties against landowners who do not remove it. The LCE board is also considering sanctions
against residents who do not control it.
If you are new to our area, or you have not heard much about buffelgrass before, the Southern
Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center has an excellent website, at www.buffelgrass.org. There are
detailed pictures of what the plants look like, and videos of buffelgrass fires. Buffelgrass, while alive,
spreads quickly and out-competes our native plants for scarce resources, including our beloved
saguaros. But, the possibility of a buffelgrass fire is the ultimate nightmare: the fire burns so much
hotter than native desert brush that it will destroy all vegetation. The cruelest irony, however, is that
the buffelgrass will re-grow very quickly from the charred landscape, while other plants will not.
Without intervention, buffelgrass could constitute the Sonoran desert of the future. Many people
move here for the climate, but property values will surely plummet if there are constant desert
wildfires and no saguaros.
Please help us all to control buffelgrass by removing it from your property. If you have any
questions, please contact Tim Demers, 749-5190.
Additional Information
La Cebadilla Estates is host to wonderful native grasses and celebrates them in many street names.
La Cebadilla means “barley.” Cartamo means “safflower”. Zacate means “grass or forage”. Algodon
means “cotton”. And Sorgo means “sorghum”. It would be shame if we lost those native species to
the invasive Buffelgrass and its cousin Fountain grass. It would be tragic if we lost more of our native
desert vegetation and any of our homes through an uncontrolled fire brought on by hot burning
Buffelgrass.
Now’s the time to get out and start eradicating Buffelgrass on your property. Buffelgrass is an
invasive plant brought here from Africa for cattle feed. It has turned into a very serious fire hazard,
so serious that Rural Metro has issued warnings and offers advice at
http://www.rmfire.com/buffelgrass/default.asp
Another good resource for learning more about Buffelgrass and what you can do to protect your
property is the Southern and Central Arizona Buffelgrass Response Center:
http://buffelgrass.org/
If you would like additional help in identifying and eradicating Buffelgrass on your property, contact
your neighbor Joy Phoenix at 749-2229 or:
jphoenix@theriver.com
Here are some pictures of what buffelgrass looks like:
When dried out:
When greening up:
Here is an example of how quickly fire spreads buffelgrass when not contained: