Dear Teacher,

Welcome to this classroom investigation unit 

on native plants on public lands. From its three 

activities, students will learn the importance of 

native plants, how native plants are threatened, 

and some of the factors that go into land use 

decisions.

The activities are designed to offer students 

speaking, drawing, and teaching roles as they 

progress through the unit. This unit is designed 

for middle school and high school students and 

can be adapted for upper elementary school 

students.

The activities engage students in using diverse 

cognitive skills such as interpreting written 

material, translating data into graphic form, 

and analyzing diverse views on a public issue 

with positions that are based on science and 

conflicting values.

The unit can be used to support a number of 

innovative strategies in education, such as:

Differentiated instruction: In groups, 

students take various roles, such as 

reporter and poster illustrator, that can 

accommodate a wide variety of strengths 

and challenges.

Social and emotional learning: Students 

participate in small groups with a rotating 

cast of their classmates during the activity 

on the benefits of native plants, and in the 

land use activity, they work to come to 

consensus on a question for which there is 

no clear right answer.

Interdisciplinary instruction: While the unit 

focuses on facts about native plants, it also 

addresses key concepts in social studies 

and English language arts. For social 

studies, students examine a public issue by 

looking at the same variables as land use 

managers; for English language arts, they 

read nonfiction passages and restate the 

information in their own words.

Civic education: The land use activity features 

respectful classroom discussion of a public 

issue, and an adaptation activity prompts 

students to research and discuss land use 

questions with local public officials. 

Each activity should take one 45-minute class 

period, for a total of three periods. While 

each activity can stand alone, the three 

activities work best as a collective unit that 

progresses from identifying benefits of native 

plants, to examining threats to native plants, 

to considering how land use management 

decisions affect native plants.

Curriculum Connections

In its entirety, the unit is aligned with Next 

Generation Science Standard 08-ESS3-3: 

“Apply scientific principles to design a method 

for monitoring and minimizing a human impact 

on the environment.”

The activities address the following essential 

understandings:

• Healthy ecosystems feature a balance 

among competitors, pests, predators, and 

diseases, and native plants are essential to 

maintaining this balance.

• Native plants are increasingly under stress.

• The vast public lands of the U.S. provide a 

unique opportunity to conserve and restore 

native plant communities.

• Conserving and restoring native plant 

communities involves balancing benefits 

and costs, and the costs become steeper as 

threats build over time. 

Front Cover: North Maricopa Mountains Wilderness, Arizona. Photo by Bob Wick
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Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

About the Bureau of 

Land Management

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cares 

for about 245 million acres of federally owned 

public lands, mainly in the Western United 

States and Alaska. These lands, representing 

about one-eighth of our nation’s land area, 

belong to all Americans. In addition, the BLM 

administers 700 million acres of mineral estate 

across the entire country. 

Public lands are used for many purposes. They 

support local economies, providing Americans 

with coal, oil and gas, forest products, livestock 

forage, and other commodities. As a haven for 

plants and wildlife, they play a critical role in 

habitat and resource conservation efforts. They 

embrace some of our country’s most important 

historical, archaeological, and paleontological 

sites. Open spaces on public lands offer places 

for people to play, learn, and explore. In recent 

years, some BLM lands have been designated 

as part of the National Landscape Conservation 

System, a network of lands afforded special 

status and managed almost exclusively to 

conserve their scientific, cultural, educational, 

ecological, and other values.

The BLM is responsible for managing public 

lands under the principles of multiple use and 

sustained yield in a manner that best meets the 

current and future needs of the public. With 

so many resources and uses, the BLM’s job is 

challenging. Thankfully, countless partners, 

volunteers, and communities provide invaluable 

support, helping the agency carry out its 

stewardship mission. To learn more about your 

public lands and how you can get involved, visit 

http://www.blm.gov.

The Importance of 

Native Plants

BLM lands are found throughout a range of 

diverse climates, soils, and elevations, and 

the native plants on BLM lands contribute 

significantly to our nation’s biodiversity. BLM 

lands support many unique plant communities 

including some of the most iconic species in 

the U.S. From redwood trees in California to 

saguaro cactus in Arizona and from sagebrush 

in Nevada to prairie grasses in Montana, all 

can be found on public lands. These native 

plant species are widespread and well-known. 

Some less well-known species of native plants 

are found in only one location or just on public 

lands, and they are equally important when 

it comes to contributing to biodiversity and 

creating wildlife habitats.

Though there is not an accurate estimate of 

the number of native plant species that grow 

on BLM lands, these plants contribute food, 

medicines, and many products used by the 

American people. Native plants contribute to 

America’s great outdoors by providing variety 

and beauty for us to see and experience in 

nature. Native plants are important for having 

healthy land and all that it provides for humans 

and other animals. Protecting all native plant 

species means people can continue to benefit 

from native plants today and discover new ways 

these plants might help improve our lives in the 

future.

Native plant species in the U.S. face numerous 

threats: habitat loss, overgrazing, wildfires, 

invasive species, chemical pollution, and 

climate change. Natural habitats have been 

degraded, and the genetic diversity so essential 

to stable, balanced ecosystems has declined. 

Today, on BLM lands, 170 native plant species 

could go extinct and are protected by listing 
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Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

as threatened or endangered under the 

Endangered Species Act of 1973. Another 

1,589 rare plants on BLM lands could be lost, 

unless they are carefully monitored. 

As the nation’s largest land manager, the 

BLM has a special responsibility—and unique 

opportunity—to slow or stop the decline of 

native plant species and communities. 

Table of Contents

Activity 1, Benefits of Native Plants . . . . . . . . . 1

Activity 2, Threats to Native Plants . . . . . . . . . 15

Activity 3, Land Use Decisions . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Additional Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
1

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Activity 1, 

Benefits of 

Native Plants

For the Teacher

This activity addresses the following 

essential understanding:

• Healthy ecosystems feature a balance 

among competitors, pests, predators, and 

diseases, and native plants are essential to 

maintaining this balance.

Overview

This activity prompts students to examine 

what native plants are and what roles they 

play for both nature and human culture. In 

North America, native species are generally 

recognized as those that existed on the 

continent prior to contact by Europeans in the 

late 15th century. After discussing some of the 

many benefits of native plants, students will 

describe to each other how native plants slow 

erosion, maintain balance among organisms, 

support pollinators, and diversify the food 

supply.

This is the first of three activities that introduce 

students to native plants on public lands. The 

second makes students aware of some of the 

threats to native plants, and a concluding 

activity focuses on the tradeoffs facing land 

managers who want to protect native plant 

communities.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to (1) describe benefits 

provided by native plants; and (2) explain 

how some of the benefits of native plants are 

related to each other.

Teacher 

Preparation

1. Make copies of the student 

handouts. Group 1 will receive Handout 1; 

Group 2 will receive Handout 2; etc.

2. Read the “Background Information” to 

become familiar with the benefits of native 

plants. 

Time Estimate:

45 minutes
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Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Background 

Information

Native plants help 

slow soil erosion.

Erosion occurs when rainfall dislodges 

soil particles and carries them off a slope, 

forming rills and gullies that can even trigger 

landslides. Native plants protect and help 

stabilize the soil. Mosses and lichen are 

especially effective at holding soil in place. 

Some of them produce sticky substances 

(polysaccharides) that retain nutrients in the 

soil and hold soil particles together. When 

nonnative plants move into an area, they 

can drive out the native mosses and lichen 

and even some native flowering plants. This 

makes the soil more likely to erode. When 

nonnative plants rapidly grow and spread 

over large areas, they are considered 

invasive plants.

A native plant community composed of a 

diverse mix of species and growth forms (such 

as trees, shrubs, and grasses) will slow erosion 

because of the way the plant roots affect soil 

health. Many native plants offer the added 

benefit of broad, extensive root systems 

that physically reinforce soils at all levels and 

increase penetration of water, which reduces 

erosion. Deep, woody roots lock soil layers 

together vertically; lateral roots connect 

plants in an interlocking grid horizontally; and 

fine feeder roots form a complex network 

through the upper soil layers.

In contrast, invasive plants tend to occur 

in monocultures (when only a single type 

of plant grows in an area). Successful 

invasives thrive in their new habitats 

because their natural competitors do not 

live there. Invasives often reproduce quickly, 

adapt rapidly to new situations, and may 

outcompete native plants for water or 

nutrients. With few or no natural checks on 

their growth, they are able to quickly occupy 

any disturbed or damaged lands. The result is 

often a near monoculture of invasives 

with a low diversity of plant forms and a 

simplified soil structure, which is a good 

setup for soil erosion.

Native plants help maintain 

balance among organisms.

Native plants offer food, cover, and nesting 

areas needed by animals in a particular 

ecosystem. As a result, plants significantly 

influence overall biodiversity as well as the 

fates of individual animal species adapted to 

highly specific habitats. Native plant species 

have generally adapted and evolved with 

the competing species, prey, predators, and 

diseases of an area over many thousands 

of years. So native plants are usually in 

reasonable ecological balance with their 

associates and competitors, and they have 

particular pests, predators, and diseases that 

limit their abundance.

Native plants 

support pollinators.

Most flowering plants can produce seeds 

only when pollen is transferred between 

flowers of the same species. This is often 

done by pollinators that visit flowers to gather 

nectar or pollen. Between 75 and 95 percent 

of all flowering plants rely on pollinators to 

aid in reproduction.
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Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Most pollinators are invertebrates, including 

flies, beetles, bees, butterflies, and moths. 

Birds and bats serve as pollinators as well. 

Pollen grains attach to the animal’s body; 

the pollinator then unknowingly transports 

those pollen grains as it moves from flower 

to flower to feed. When the animal visits a 

flower of the same type, the pollen may fall 

off and help the plant reproduce.

Some native plants depend on a particular 

pollinator that in turn depends on them. For 

example, Joshua trees in the Mojave Desert 

are pollinated only by yucca moths, and 

the moths lay their eggs only in Joshua tree 

flowers. These types of symbiotic pollinator 

relationships develop over long periods of 

time and have a high risk of collapsing when 

either partner’s population declines.

Native plants help 

diversify the food supply.

Plants provide the fundamental services 

upon which most life depends. Through 

photosynthesis, plants convert water and 

carbon dioxide into the oxygen and sugars 

that provide the primary fuel for life. Plants 

are the foundation of virtually the entire 

terrestrial food chain, sustaining humans as 

well as wildlife.

Over the centuries, farmers around the world 

have selectively bred native wild plants into 

high-yield, disease-resistant crops. Today, 90 

percent of the world’s food comes from only 

20 such plant species. As a result, the genetic 

makeup of each species of our main food 

crops lacks diversity, which can result in crop 

failure if the plants face an unfamiliar disease. 

For example, in 1970, a fungus destroyed 

15 percent of the U.S. corn crop. Each year, 

researchers find hundreds of new potential 

sources of food from wild native plants, 

which could be developed into alternative or 

replacement food sources. Two food sources 

harvested from public lands are pinyon nuts 

in the southwest and wild mushrooms in the 

northwest.

Native plants are also used around 

agricultural fields to support honeybees and 

native pollinators. Monocultures of a single 

species often bloom only at a given time, 

and a diverse group of natives that bloom 

throughout the growing season can extend 

the season for pollinators. Also, native 

pollinators are increasingly relied upon for 

pollination as honeybees suffer losses.

Vocabulary

Biodiversity – the variety and variability 

among living organisms and the ecological 

complexes in which they occur (U.S. 

Congress, Office of Technology Assessment).

Ecosystem – a complex set of relationships 

among the living resources, habitats, and 

residents of an area (Michigan Technological 

University).

Native species – all species of plants and 

animals naturally occurring, either presently 

or historically, in any ecosystem of the United 

States. (U.S. Executive Order 11987).
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Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Procedure

1. Hook: Ask students to 

brainstorm how people benefit 

from and use plants (they might list 

wood, oxygen, food, etc.). Let them know 

they will be researching a specific group 

of plants in today’s class: native plants, or 

those that have been on the continent since 

before Europeans arrived and were not 

introduced by humans.

2. Intro: Explain that healthy ecosystems 

depend on native plants to survive and 

thrive. Healthy means all parts exist in 

balance: soil, water, plants, and animals. 

Note that native plants are essential 

to maintaining ecosystem balance. Let 

students know they will look at how 

ecosystems and people are better off where 

there are native plants.

3. Describe learning and teaching groups: 

Explain to students that they will be working 

in two different groups: a learning group 

and a teaching group. In the learning group, 

they will read and talk about one benefit 

of native plants. This will prepare them to 

become an “expert” teacher about that 

benefit later, in the teaching group.

4. Learning group: There are four learning 

groups, one for each benefit of native 

plants. Depending on how large the class 

is, there might be seven or eight students 

per learning group. In the learning group, 

students should read their group’s handout 

and talk about how to explain it to other 

students. Once each learning group has 

finished discussing its benefit, have students 

count off 1 through 7 or 8 (depending on 

how many are in the group). Then assign 

students to a teaching group by asking all 

the “1s” to form a group, all the “2s,” to form

a group, all the “3s,” to form a group, etc. 

5. Teaching group: Every teaching group 

should have four students—one “expert” for 

each benefit. Each “expert” has 2 minutes 

to teach the other three members of the 

group about his or her benefit. First, the 

soil erosion “expert” explains how native 

plants reduce erosion. Then the balance 

among organisms “expert” describes how 

native plants support biodiversity. Then the 

pollinators “expert” explains how native 

plants support pollinators, and finally the 

food supply “expert” describes how native 

plants promote diversity in the food supply. 

By the end of the teaching group, all the 

students will know about the four benefits 

of native plants.

6. Conclusion: Reconfigure the class into one 

unit and ask: What makes a native plant 

a native plant, and why are native plants 

important?

Assessment

Circulate among groups during 

group work to ensure students are 

understanding and accurately relating the 

information on their handouts. If students 

struggle to answer the question during step 6 

(conclusion), ask about specific benefits. 

For example, ask if anyone can explain how 

native plants help diversify the food supply or 

maintain balanced ecosystems. 
5

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Adaptations to 

Consider • Ask students to work individually or in 

teams to create posters of local native 

plants, which should include each plant’s 

attributes and benefits.

• Ask teams to develop 30- or 60-second 

radio advertisements, electronic brochures, 

or slideshows that explain a benefit of 

native plants.

In the Field

Create a field guide of local 

native plants, using the resources 

at http://fieldguides.cnps.org/.

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

sticky substances that retain nutrients in the soil 

and hold soil particles together. This helps to 

slow erosion and keep soil where it can do the 

most good.

Here are some of the specific ways native 

plants help slow soil erosion:

• Many native plants have broad root systems 

that are deep and interlocking to hold soil 

in place.

• Native mosses and lichen are especially 

effective at holding soil in place. Some 

produce sticky substances that retain 

nutrients in the soil and hold soil particles 

together.

• Some plants store a lot of water in their 

stems or leaves, which can reduce erosion.

• Water travels down the deep roots of native 

plants, so some precipitation goes below 

the soil surface instead of eroding the soil.

Task:

Read and talk about how native plants can slow 

soil erosion and why it is important, and make 

sure each student is ready to explain this to 

students in your next group. 

Activity 1, 

Benefits of 

Native Plants

Handout 1: 

Slow Erosion

Instructions: 

• Read the material below.

• Discuss the material with others in your 

group.

• Be sure every member of the group takes 

notes and is ready to teach a new group 

about how native plants help slow erosion.

• Then, wait for further instructions from your 

teacher.

Background: 

Have you ever ridden along a dirt road and felt 

your car bouncing a lot more than usual or seen 

that parts of the road look like little ditches? 

The road likely has been eroded by rainfall and 

rushing water. That fast-moving water does not 

just make your ride rougher. It can also harm 

water quality in streams and prevent some 

of the water from seeping into the ground to 

keep the soil healthy. Rushing water can carry 

soil into streams, which may harm some of the 

animals that live there. This leaves less soil for 

growing plants that support pollinators and 

other animals, including humans.

Mosses and lichen are especially effective at 

holding soil in place. Some of them produce 

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Here are some of the specific ways native 

plants help maintain balance among 

organisms:

• Native plants offer food, shelter, and 

nesting areas needed by animals in a 

particular ecosystem.

• Native plant species have adapted and 

evolved with the competing species, prey, 

predators, and diseases of an area over 

many thousands of years. This lets them live 

in balance with other organisms.

• Because of the ecological balance they 

help maintain, native plants are often able 

to survive while supporting the survival of 

other organisms.

Task:

Read and talk about how native plants maintain 

balance among organisms and why it is 

important, and make sure each student is ready 

to explain this to students in your next group.

Activity 1, 

Benefits of 

Native Plants 

Handout 2:

Maintain 

Balance among 

Organisms

Instructions: 

• Read the material below.

• Discuss the material with others in your 

group.

• Be sure every member of the group takes 

notes and is ready to teach a new group 

about how native plants help maintain 

balance among organisms.

• Then, wait for further instructions from your 

teacher.

Background: 

If you look briefly at a native plant or tree, you 

may think it stands alone. However, a closer 

look at native plants shows how connected 

they are to other organisms. They offer a lot 

of services, such as food, shelter, and nesting 

areas, to many animals. Native plants also 

benefit from some of these animals, which 

pollinate them so they can reproduce. Native 

plants have often had thousands of years to 

adapt to an area and its climate, predators, 

and competing species. This makes it less likely 

that one species can absolutely dominate the 

others.

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 1, 

Benefits of 

Native Plants

Handout 3:

Support 

Pollinators

Instructions:

• Read the material below.

• Discuss the material with others in your 

group.

• Be sure every member of the group takes 

notes and is ready to teach a new group 

about how native plants support pollinators.

• Then, wait for further instructions from your 

teacher.

Background: 

Unlike most animals, plants are not able 

to move around to seek food, shelter, and 

opportunities to reproduce. Instead, plants 

often rely on mobile animals to help them 

reproduce. In fact, more than 75 percent of 

flowering plants depend on pollinators. Plants 

have to provide something to these animals 

to draw them in, such as food in the form of 

nectar. Sometimes, plants produce chemicals 

that help their pollinators fight diseases, which 

the aspen does for its bee pollinators. Or plants 

may provide a shelter in their leaves for the 

eggs of their pollinators, as the Joshua tree 

does for the yucca moth.

Here are some of the specific ways native 

plants help support pollinators:

• Native plants provide pollinators, such as 

bees, birds, and butterflies, shelter and a 

food source, such as nectar.

• Some native plants, such as milkweed, give 

their pollinator butterflies chemicals, which 

help the butterflies fight parasites.

• Some native plants, such as aspens, give 

their pollinator bees chemicals, which help 

the bees fight diseases.

• Joshua trees give their only pollinator, the 

yucca moth, space in their flowers where 

the moths lay eggs.

Task:

Read and talk about how native plants can 

support pollinators and why it is important, and 

make sure each student is ready to explain this 

to students in your next group.

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 1, 

Benefits of 

Native Plants

Handout 4: 

Diversify the 

Food Supply

Instructions: 

• Read the material below.

• Discuss the material with others in your 

group.

• Be sure every member of the group takes 

notes and is ready to teach a new group 

about how native plants help diversify the 

food supply.

• Then, wait for further instructions from your 

teacher.

Background:

Imagine you own a car company that makes 

the best gigantic cars on the road, and then an 

oil crisis more than doubles the cost of gas. It 

might not matter that your cars are top quality, 

ideal for big families, and long-lasting. Once 

gas prices shoot up, people might stop buying 

your cars. If you don’t have smaller and more 

efficient cars to sell, you are likely to go out 

of business. It’s a good idea to offer a diverse 

set of cars for sale so you can quickly adapt to 

changing conditions.

A similar idea works for the food supply. Over 

the centuries, farmers have selectively bred 

native wild plants into high-yield, diseaseresistant crops. This is a great success under 

current conditions. However, today, only 

20 such plant species provide 90 percent 

of the world’s food. The genetic makeup of 

the species of our main food crops is not 

very diverse. Crops can fail if the plants face 

a disease to which they have not adapted 

resistance. For example, in 1970, a fungus 

destroyed 15 percent of the U.S. corn crop. 

Diversity is the best way to be ready for sudden 

changes in conditions.

Here are some of the specific ways native 

plants help diversify the food supply:

• Varied and native plant-based food crops 

increase genetic diversity and reduce risk of 

crop failure and disease.

• Native plants are a potential source of food 

that could replace diseased or failed food 

crops.

• Native plants are a source of genetic 

material that can make the plants with 

which they are bred more resistant to 

disease and drought.

• Native plants near agricultural lands support 

native pollinators and honeybees, which in 

turn boost agricultural production.

Task:

Read and talk about how native plants support 

diversity in the food supply and why it is 

important, and make sure each student is ready 

to explain this to students in your next group.

15

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Activity 2, 

Threats to 

Native Plants

For the 

Teacher

This activity addresses the following 

essential understanding:

• Native plants are increasingly under stress.

Overview

This activity prompts students to examine how 

native plants are threatened. The issue is urgent 

because across the nation, thousands of acres 

of public lands are being affected by wildfires, 

climate change, and invasive plants, which can 

harm livestock grazing areas, agricultural lands, 

and natural areas. 

This is the second of three activities that 

introduce students to native plants on public 

lands. The first examines some of the benefits 

of native plants, and a concluding activity 

focuses on the tradeoffs facing land managers 

who want to protect native plant communities.

Time Estimate:

45 minutes

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to (1) describe key 

threats to native plants; (2) identify human and 

natural causes of the threats; and (3) explain 

how some of the threats of native plants are 

related to each other.

Teacher 

Preparation

1. Provide tape, markers, and two 

sheets of chart paper per group so groups 

can create posters. Ensure students have 

pens and paper so they can take notes 

about each other’s posters.

2. Make copies of the handouts about 

threats. Group 1 will receive Handout 1; 

Group 2 will receive Handout 2; etc.

3. Read the “Background Information” to 

become familiar with the threats native 

plants face. 
16

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Background 

Information

Climate change threatens 

native plants.

Plants are likely threatened or endangered 

because of a human activity that caused 

habitat destruction and limited population 

numbers. These plants are now further 

threatened by climate change, and most 

native plants are at risk from climate change. 

Climate change can alter plant life stages, 

such as leaf emergence or flowering period, 

which may hinder survival and reproduction. 

Some studies estimate that plant species’ 

ranges may shift up to 90 miles due to climate 

change, and individual endemic plants that 

grow only in certain soil types may fail to 

compete in new areas. 

Milder winters and frequent droughts allow 

pests to thrive and migrate farther north, 

resulting in potential harm to native plants. 

Winters have been milder in many parts of 

the Rocky Mountains, making it easier for 

the mountain pine beetle to thrive and feed 

on more and more of the region’s evergreen 

trees. In the past, winter temperatures in 

much of the Rockies have been around -34 

to -40 degrees Celsius for weeks at a time, 

cold enough to kill any eggs beetles produce. 

As winters have become milder, the beetles, 

which can harm or kill evergreen trees in 

large numbers, have produced and hatched 

far more eggs. In addition, drought makes 

it harder for the trees to produce sap, which 

they use to repel the beetles. As droughts 

become more common, the trees are much 

less able to use sap for defense.

In the face of climate change, invasive plant 

species can also pose a particular threat to 

native plants because many invasives do well 

in changing conditions and can out-compete 

native plants for vital resources.

Wildfire threatens 

native plants.

In a healthy ecosystem with native plant 

communities, occasional wildfires often 

help maintain ecosystem balance. Fires can 

increase nutrients in the soil, help some 

native plants reproduce, and prevent invasive 

plants from entering an area. However, recent 

hotter, longer burning fires have begun to 

upset the balance. Such fires can change the 

soil that native plants depend on, making the 

soil retain less water. This can start a cycle in 

which invasive plants drive out native plants 

and establish themselves, shorten the time 

period between fires, and prevent the native 

plants from returning.

In sagebrush communities across the West, 

cheatgrass is an example of an invasive 

plant that dries quickly and burns easily, 

which makes an area more susceptible to 

wildfire. Cheatgrass is an invasive annual 

plant that quickly depletes soil moisture and 

reproduces faster than many native plants. 

It then establishes itself quickly on disturbed 

sites. Cheatgrass provides large amounts of 

connected fuel (“fuel continuity”) between 

and underneath the sagebrush shrubs, 

which causes the fires to burn at higher 

temperatures. These fires can be so hot that 

the sagebrush is injured or dies. Cheatgrass 

also promotes larger and more frequent 

wildland fires. Because there is less time 

between fires, native perennial vegetation is 

unable to recover completely before the next 

fire. All the while, cheatgrass continues to 

spread, promoting larger, hotter, and more 

frequent fires.
17

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Overgrazing threatens 

native plants.

Some plants can benefit from moderate 

amounts of grazing, as the animals may 

remove older leaves and provide room for 

newer leaves. Some plants have evolved with 

large grazing animals such as bison, deer, and 

elk. If great numbers of other animals such 

as cows, sheep, or horses graze an area, the 

land can reach a tipping point when grazing 

switches from being beneficial to being a 

threat to native plants.

Once too many animals graze in an area, 

native plants can start to lose a lot of their 

leaves, reducing the amount of sunlight they 

can intercept. The plants may then use their 

resources to replace the leaves that have 

been eaten, which can pull resources away 

from their roots. When native plants have 

shorter and weaker roots, invasive plants 

often take over.

Native plants also suffer when overgrazing 

causes the soil to become compacted and 

eroded, causing much of the precipitation to 

flow away rather than sink into the ground. 

As a result, less water is available for the 

native plants. Sometimes soil is severely 

eroded around plants, leaving them sitting on 

pedestals held in place by their roots.

Grazing animals have plant preferences, and 

they seek out plants that taste good to them. 

The tastiest ones are often native forbs and 

grasses in the plant community. The animals 

usually skip over or avoid the invasive plants 

that replace the native plants, so the animals 

may travel farther afield to seek out more of 

the native plants they prefer. This can start 

a cycle in which native plants in one area 

are overgrazed and invasive plants, which 

livestock do not want, move in. Then the 

livestock move on to new areas, graze on the 

native plants, and allow invasive plants to 

spread further.

To prevent this cycle of expanding the 

range of invasive plants, many ranchers 

are interested in preserving native plant 

communities and preventing overgrazing. 

Examples of best grazing practices include 

rotating livestock among pastures of land 

to control grazing’s effects and building 

fences to keep livestock away from the most 

vulnerable plants.

Invasive species threaten 

native plants.

Invasive plant species often have 

characteristics that enable them to outcompete native plants for moisture, sunlight, 

nutrients, space, or reproductive advantage. 

For example, a nonnative plant may flower 

more frequently and produce more seeds 

than local native species. Invasive plants may 

also use water in the soil sooner in the year or 

more quickly than native species. Some plants 

even produce chemicals in their leaves or root 

systems that inhibit the growth of other plants 

around them. When invasive plants take over 

an area, animals that depend on the native 

plants can lose their habitat.

In a native ecosystem, species evolve together 

with checks and balances, such as natural 

predators and diseases. And competition 

between plant species for resources limits 

population growth of any one species. When 

an invasive species is introduced, it may have 

few limiting factors, and its population growth 

may eventually explode.

Nationally, millions of acres of public lands 

are being affected by invasive plants, and 

thousands of invasive plant species have 
18

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

established populations in the U.S. Many of 

these invasive plants are known to adversely 

affect livestock pastures, natural areas, and 

agricultural lands.

Vocabulary

Invasive species – species that are not native 

to a particular ecosystem whose introduction 

causes or is likely to cause economic or 

environmental harm or harm to human health 

(BLM).

Overgrazing – when the amount of animal 

consumption of plants results in damage to 

vegetation or related resources (U.S. Code of 

Federal Regulations).

Procedure

1. Hook: Ask students to recall some 

of the benefits of native plants identified in 

Activity 1 (e.g., slowing erosion, maintaining 

ecosystem balance, diversifying the food 

supply), and then ask them to speculate on 

some problems that might arise if species of 

native plants were to become extinct.

2. Intro: Explain that in many places native 

plants are threatened by invasive plants, 

wildfires, overgrazing, and climate change. 

Explain that students will closely examine 

one of these threats in small groups and 

create a poster illustrating their threat. 

Then, divide the class into four roughly 

equal groups (one group for each of the 

threats), distribute the handouts based 

on the threat each group will address, 

and ask students to read and discuss the 

information on their handout. (Particularly 

large classes may require five or six groups. 

If so, some threats may be addressed by 

two groups.) 

3. Make poster 1: Explain to students 

that each group will create a poster that 

describes and shows the threat it has 

been assigned. They should use text and 

drawings on the posters to illustrate and 

cover basic facts about the threat: what is 

the threat, how does it affect native plants, 

how does it contribute or relate to other 

threats? Encourage students to be creative 

when drawing their threat, and let them 

know their poster should be clear and easy 

enough for all other students in the class 

to understand. Make sure that once all 

the posters are displayed, there is enough 

space between them to allow students to 

walk around and view them comfortably 

in groups.

4. Walk around: Instruct each group to move 

from “station to station” to read each 

other’s posters. Give students about 5 

minutes at each station to look at the work 

of the other groups. Ask students to take 

notes about how their threat is related to 

the other threats. For example, the invasive 

species group may notice on the wildfire 
19

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

poster that the invasive species cheatgrass 

is part of a wildfire cycle that threatens 

native plants. Call time at each 5-minute 

interval to let students know they should 

move on to the next group’s poster. The 

walk around ends when all groups are back 

in front of their own posters.

5. Make poster 2: Ask students to create a 

new poster that shows the connections 

among threats. Instruct students to draw a 

vertical and horizontal line on a new piece 

of chart paper and label each of the four 

squares with a threat: wildfire, overgrazing, 

climate change, and invasive species. Then 

ask them to draw lines showing which 

threats are related to the others, and write 

a brief explanation on each line about how 

the threats are related. Before students 

draw the connection lines, the poster 

should look something like this:

Wildfire Overgrazing

Climate Change Invasive Species

6. Report out: Ask a reporter from each group 

to point out all the connections they saw 

among threats and to explain one or two of 

these connections as time permits. Ask the 

entire class which threat had the most lines 

coming into and out of its square. It is likely 

to be the invasive species box; follow up by 

asking why they think invasive species was the 

threat with the most connections to the others.

Assessment

Circulate among groups as they are 

creating their posters to assess the 

accuracy and clarity of their work.

The following website provides a sample rubric 

for student posters, including both design 

and substantive criteria: http://teacherweb.

com/me/jaleonardmiddleschoololdtown/

ecologywebquest/page3.htm

Adaptations to 

Consider

To demonstrate how invasive plants can 

threaten native plants, have students grow 

grasses and flowers as described in the activity 

“Weed Invaders” on this site: http://www.

blm.gov/wo/st/en/res/Education_in_BLM/

Learning_Landscapes/For_Teachers/science_

and_children/mojave/index/mojave02a.html 
20

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

In the Field

• Grow native plants on your 

school grounds, using this guide: 

http://www.wnps.org/education/

resources/documents/MiddleSchool/

act23.pdf

• Develop a rain garden on your school 

grounds. This guide provides instructions: 

http://www.cbf.org/Document.Doc?id=64
Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 2, 

Threats to 

Native Plants 

Handout 1: 

Climate Change

Instructions:

• Read the material below, and discuss it 

with others in your group.

• Using the information below, create a 

poster to show other groups how climate 

change can threaten native plants.

• Then, wait for further instructions from 

your teacher.

Background: 

Climate change affects different areas of the 

country in different ways. In the Northern Rocky 

Mountains, climate change has brought about 

warmer winters than in the recent past. This 

makes it easier for the mountain pine beetle 

to thrive and feed on more and more of the 

area’s evergreen trees. In the past, winter 

temperatures in the forests have been around 

-34 to -40 degrees Celsius for weeks at a time, 

cold enough to kill any eggs beetles produce. 

As winters have become milder, the beetles 

have produced and hatched far more eggs. 

With a large growth in the beetle population, 

many more evergreen trees have been harmed 

or killed.

The warmer winters allow harmful pests like the 

beetle to thrive and migrate farther north. In 

some areas, the mountain pine beetle can now 

produce two generations per calendar year, 

which lets them damage trees much faster. The 

beetles can also survive at higher elevations 

(11,000 feet or about 3,300 meters now versus 

9,000 feet or about 2,700 meters 30 years ago). 

In addition, drought makes it harder for the trees 

to produce sap, which they use to repel the 

beetles. As droughts become more common, 

the trees are less able to use sap for defense.

Climate change can also affect native plants by 

changing plants’ life stages such as how long 

they flower and when leaves emerge. These 

changes may hinder the plants’ ability to survive 

and reproduce. When native plants are weakened 

by climate change, invasive plant species can 

threaten the native plants. The invasives tend 

to do well in changing conditions and to outcompete native plants for vital resources.

Here are some of the specific ways climate 

change can threaten native plants:

• Climate change moves warmer temperature 

zones farther north and raises average 

temperatures at higher altitudes, making 

winters mild enough to increase the 

numbers of pests that harm native plants.

• Climate change can alter plant life stages 

such as when leaves emerge and when and 

how long plants flower. These changes can 

disrupt plant reproduction.

• Some invasive plants do better in warmer 

climates, meaning they may be able to outcompete native plants for vital resources.

• Some native plants are not adapted to 

warmer temperatures and are unable to 

survive.

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 2, 

Threats to 

Native Plants

Handout 2: 

Wildfire

Instructions:

•	 Read the material below, and discuss it with

others in your group.

•	 Using the information below, create a poster

to show students in the other groups how

wildfire can threaten native plants.

•	 Then, wait for further instructions from your

teacher.

Background: 

In a healthy ecosystem with native plant 

communities, occasional wildfires often help 

maintain ecosystem balance. Fires can increase 

nutrients in the soil, help some native plants 

reproduce, and prevent invasive plants from 

entering an area. However, recent hotter, 

longer burning fires have begun to upset the 

balance. Such fires can change the soil that 

native plants depend on, making the soil 

retain less water. This can start a cycle in which 

invasive plants drive out native plants and 

establish themselves, shorten the time period 

between fires, and prevent the native plants 

from returning.

In sagebrush communities across the West, 

cheatgrass is an example of an invasive plant 

that dries quickly and burns easily, which makes 

an area more susceptible to wildfire. Cheatgrass 

is an invasive annual plant that quickly depletes 

soil moisture and reproduces faster than many 

native plants. It then establishes itself quickly 

on disturbed sites. Cheatgrass provides large 

amounts of connected fuel (“fuel continuity”) 

between and underneath the sagebrush 

shrubs, which causes the fires to burn at higher 

temperatures. These fires can be so hot that the 

sagebrush is injured or dies. Cheatgrass also 

promotes larger and more frequent wildland 

fires. Because there is less time between fires, 

sagebrush is unable to recover completely 

before the next fire. All the while, cheatgrass 

continues to spread, promoting larger, hotter, 

and more frequent fires.

Here are some of the specific ways wildfire 

can threaten native plants:

• More wildfires are burning longer and 

hotter, damaging the soil and making it 

hold less water than native plants need.

• The changed conditions may be more 

suitable for invasive plants than for native 

plants, starting a cycle in which invasive 

plants become established and prevent 

native plants from returning.

• An example of an invasive plant is 

cheatgrass, which produces huge numbers 

of seeds, depletes soil moisture, and 

increases fuel for fires so they burn hotter 

and more often. This leaves less time for 

native plants to recover from wildfires.

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 2, 

Threats to 

Native Plants

Handout 3: 

Overgrazing

Instructions:

• Read the material below, and discuss it with 

others in your group.

• Using the information below, create 

a poster to show other groups how 

overgrazing can threaten native plants.

• Then, wait for further instructions from your 

teacher. 

Background: 

Some plants can benefit from moderate amounts 

of grazing, as the animals may remove older 

leaves and provide room for newer leaves. 

Some plants have evolved with large grazing 

animals such as bison, elk, and deer. If great 

numbers of other animals such as cows, sheep, 

or horses graze an area, the land can reach a 

tipping point when grazing switches from being 

beneficial to being a threat to native plants.

Once too many animals graze in an area, 

native plants can start to lose a lot of their 

leaves, reducing the amount of sunlight they 

can intercept. The plants may then use their 

resources to replace the leaves that have been 

eaten, which can pull resources away from their 

roots. When native plants have shorter and 

weaker roots, invasive plants often take over.

Native plants also suffer when overgrazing 

causes the soil to become compacted and 

eroded. This causes much of the precipitation 

to flow away as runoff rather than sink into the 

ground. As a result, less water is available for 

the native plants. Sometimes soil is severely 

eroded around plants, leaving them sitting on 

pedestals held in place by their roots.

Grazing animals have plant preferences, and 

they seek out plants that taste good to them. 

The tastiest ones are often native forbs and 

grasses in the plant community. The animals 

usually skip over or avoid the invasive plants 

that replace the native plants, so the animals 

may travel farther afield to seek out more of 

the native plants they prefer. This can start a 

cycle in which native plants in one area are 

overgrazed and invasive plants, which livestock 

do not want, move in. Then the livestock move 

on to new areas, graze on the native plants, and 

allow invasive plants to spread further.

To prevent this cycle of expanding the range of 

invasive plants, many ranchers are interested 

in preserving native plant communities and 

preventing overgrazing. For example, ranchers 

may rotate livestock among pastures and build 

fences to keep livestock away from the most 

vulnerable plant communities.

Here are some of the specific ways 

overgrazing can threaten native plants:

• When too many animals graze in an area, 

the area can be harmed, and native plants 

can lose many leaves, reducing the amount 

of sunlight they can intercept.

• With less sunlight, native plants develop 

shorter and weaker roots, which may make 

it easier for invasive plants to move in.

• Heavy grazing animals can cause the soil to 

become compacted and eroded, causing 

water to rush away. With less available 

water, native plants often struggle to thrive 

and reproduce.

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 2, 

Threats to 

Native Plants

Handout 4: 

Invasive Species

Instructions:

• Read the material below, and discuss it with 

others in your group.

• Using the information below, create a 

poster to show other groups how invasive 

species can threaten native plants.

• Then, wait for further instructions from your 

teacher. 

Background: 

Invasive plant species often have characteristics 

that enable them to out-compete native 

plants for moisture, sunlight, nutrients, space, 

or reproductive advantage. For example, a 

nonnative plant may flower more frequently 

and produce more seeds than local native 

species. Invasive plants may also use water 

in the soil sooner in the year or more quickly 

than native species. Some plants even produce 

chemicals in their leaves or root systems that 

inhibit the growth of other plants around them. 

When invasive plants take over an area, animals 

that depend on the native plants can lose their 

habitat.

In a native ecosystem, species evolve together 

with checks and balances, such as natural 

predators and diseases. And competition 

between plants species for resources limits 

population growth of any one species. When an 

invasive species is introduced, it may have few 

limiting factors, and its population growth may 

eventually explode.

Thousands of invasive plant species have 

established populations in the U.S. Millions 

of acres of public lands are being affected by 

invasive plant species. Many of these invasive 

plants are known to adversely affect livestock 

pastures, natural areas, and agricultural lands.

Here are some of the specific ways invasive 

species can threaten native plants:

• When an invasive species is introduced, 

it may have few limiting factors, and its 

population growth may eventually explode.

• Invasive plant species often have 

characteristics that enable them to outcompete native plants for moisture, 

sunlight, nutrients, space, or reproductive 

advantage. Invasive plants also may flower 

more often or produce more seeds.

• Some invasive plants produce chemicals 

in their leaves or root systems that make it 

harder for other plants to grow nearby.

29

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Time Estimate: Activity 3, Land 45 minutes

Use Decisions

For the 

Teacher

This activity addresses the following 

essential understandings:

• The vast public lands of the U.S. provide a 

unique opportunity to conserve and restore 

native plant communities.

• Conserving and restoring native plant 

communities involves balancing benefits 

and costs, and the costs become steeper as 

threats build over time. 

Overview

This activity encourages students to grapple 

with the tradeoffs that public land managers 

face as they balance native plant preservation 

with land uses such as recreation and tourism. 

The choice in the activity is whether to approve 

hiking trails on a parcel of land and, if so, 

which of two routes to select. Small groups 

of students analyze how various options may 

affect heritage areas, the tourist economy, 

hikers, and native plants.

This is the third of three activities that introduce 

students to native plants on public lands. The 

first examines some of the benefits of native 

plants, and the second looks at various threats 

to native plant communities.

Learning Objectives

Students will be able to (1) describe factors 

considered by planners when making public 

land use decisions; (2) take and defend 

positions on hypothetical but realistic land use 

planning questions; and (3) explain the costs 

and benefits of land use choices.

Teacher 

Preparation

1. Make copies of the three-page 

handout and Camina Vista map (one per 

student).

2. Read the “Background Information” to 

become familiar with some of the choices 

that public land managers face and the 

diverse views about what the managers 

should do.
30

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Background 

Information

BLM public lands are managed for diverse uses 

such as supplying natural resources—minerals, 

timber, coal, natural gas, oil, renewable 

energy—and providing habitat for plants and 

animals. BLM public lands also provide open 

spaces where people can enjoy recreation and 

learn about evidence of our country’s past, from 

ancient trilobites to 20th century ghost towns.

Public land managers must balance recreation, 

conservation, and economic values when 

deciding a land use question, and they listen 

to diverse voices representing a wide range 

of interests. People who depend on the 

hospitality industry want high levels of tourism 

activity and often endorse decisions that 

promote recreation. Outdoor enthusiasts who 

enjoy hiking in scenic areas, rock climbing, 

fishing, and mountain biking also usually 

want to see decisions that accommodate 

recreation. Alternatively, tribal leaders, historic 

preservationists, and conservationists often 

speak for minimizing human impact on the 

land, even if that means limiting recreational 

opportunities. This view may be seconded by 

those in farming and agriculture, who often 

depend on healthy plant communities to 

filter water and to support grazing animals 

and pollinators of food crops. Land use 

managers constantly explore ways to preserve 

biodiversity, maintain balanced habitats, attract 

visitors to the public lands, promote economic 

activity, and ensure that future generations can 

enjoy cultural and recreational resources.

Camina Vista is the fictional parcel of land at 

the heart of this activity, but the issues and 

perspectives are representative of those often 

faced by public land managers. Camina Vista is 

bisected by a paved road, includes a heritage 

site regarded as sacred by the local tribal 

nation, is currently without formal recreational 

opportunities, and is largely covered by native 

sagebrush that faces various threats, including 

the invasive plant cheatgrass.

It is essential for students to understand 

that there is not just one right answer for 

the dilemma in the activity. The students 

should appreciate the tradeoffs that land 

managers face when weighing the pros and 

cons of choices that may partially satisfy most 

stakeholders but are certain not to fully satisfy 

everyone. 

Procedure

1. Hook: Ask students to think about 

decisions made by young people 

that have long-lasting effects versus ones 

that do not. Ask for a show of hands for 

which of the following choices have longterm consequences: whether to go to a 

movie or stay in, whether to stay in school 

or drop out, whether to have pizza or 

salad, whether to take college preparation 

courses or not. Note that public officials 

like mayors and presidents are often called 

upon to make long-lasting decisions, such 

as whether to open a new school or send 

the military overseas. These are decisions 

about which many smart and sincere people 

may disagree, often making them difficult to 

resolve.
31

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

2. Intro: Explain that public land managers 

make long-lasting decisions just as mayors 

and presidents do. Public land managers 

must consider the diverse views of many 

smart and sincere people before making 

decisions that can have consequences 

lasting decades or even centuries. Let 

students know they will get into small 

groups to look at and make choices about a 

land use issue just as public land managers 

would, considering various views and being 

aware that there is not just one right answer.

3. Group instructions: Distribute the student 

handout to everyone; ask them to read the 

scenario and examine the map; and explain 

that their job in the group is to choose an 

option by consensus. Divide students into 

groups of four or five, and ask the groups 

to select someone to report out. Provide 

about 20 minutes for the groups to consider 

the arguments and select one of the 

options, which include: do nothing, approve 

the short trail, approve the long trail, or 

approve both trails. Answer any clarification 

questions students may have; emphasize 

that there is not just one right answer; 

and discourage students from introducing 

factors that are outside the context of the 

activity (e.g., avoid the sagebrush, route 

Trail 2 through the wetlands, etc.).

4. Report out: Ask the reporter from each 

group to report the decisions their group 

reached. Keep a tally to show which 

groups made which choices. Ask reporters 

to identify which arguments were most 

persuasive and why, as well as how difficult 

the decision was to make. If any groups did 

not reach consensus, ask them why they 

were unable. For those groups that did 

reach consensus, ask why they rejected the 

choices they did not select, as well as why 

they made the choice they made.

5. Conclusion: Reconfigure the class into 

one unit. Ask for a show of hands for 

which students thought which factor was 

the most important: promoting economic 

development, protecting native plants, 

accommodating recreation, preserving 

native heritage. Ask students to comment 

on which tradeoff was most difficult, and ask 

if anyone changed his or her view from the 

beginning to the end of the activity and, if 

so, why.

Assessment

Circulate among groups as students 

discuss the land use issue, and listen for 

whether students are on topic and respectfully 

discussing the tradeoffs. Use student responses 

to the question in step 5 (conclusion) to gauge 

how well they understand the tradeoffs facing 

land managers.
32

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Adaptations to 

Consider • Instead of providing students with many 

of the pros and cons, ask them to come 

up with these by discussing in groups how 

each land use choice would affect native 

plants, hikers and other recreation interests, 

ecosystem balance, the local tourism 

economy, and the tribe. Then ask students 

to work together to make a consensus 

decision.

• Another alternative is to assign students 

the various roles, such as hikers, 

tourism promoters, tribal leaders, and 

conservationists. Group students by role, 

and ask them to develop a presentation and 

argue their positions in front of a panel of 

volunteer adults or neutral peers. Ask the 

panel to decide the trail siting question.

• Ask students to identify a land use issue 

in the community, research and gather 

information about it, and explore and 

debate possible solutions.

• Invite a land manager to talk with students 

about a recent difficult land use decision he 

or she had to make.

In the Field

Identify a federal, tribal, state, or 

local body that makes land use decisions; 

research one of their current land use issues; 

and plan a visit to observe them as they discuss 

a land use issue.
Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Native Plants Classroom Investigation

Activity 3, Land 

Use Decisions

Instructions:

• Read the scenario, things to consider, and 

pros and cons of each option. Look at the 

map, and examine the two possible routes 

for hiking trails in Camina Vista, a fictional 

area of public land.

• Your group needs to agree on a decision 

about the trails, and your choices include: 

(1) do not approve either trail; (2) approve 

Trail 1, the shorter trail; (3) approve Trail 2, 

the longer trail; and (4) approve both trails.

• Select a reporter for the group who will 

explain your group’s choice to the rest of 

the class, including: (1) your decision, (2) the 

main reasons you made that choice, (3) how 

difficult it was to decide, and (4) the key 

tradeoffs you discussed.

Scenario

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is the 

federal agency that manages the Camina Vista 

public lands (see the Camina Vista map). The 

BLM is considering adding one or more hiking 

trails there. Camina Vista is home to a Native 

American heritage site, a sagebrush community, 

a bighorn sheep area, some invasive 

cheatgrass, a scenic vista, and a wetland. The 

sagebrush is threatened by cheatgrass and 

more frequent wildfires. Camina Vista is next 

to Walker Mesa, an established recreation 

area with trails that are part of a regional trail 

system. The area also has a north-south road 

going through it.

The BLM Camina Vista land managers have 

four options:

1. Do nothing, and leave the area as it is.

2. Authorize a shorter loop trail (Trail 1 on the 

map).

3. Approve a longer trail with a connector trail 

to Walker Mesa’s system of trails covering 

hundreds of miles (Trail 2 on the map).

4. Approve both Trail 1 and Trail 2.

Things to consider:

• If either trail is built, a parking area, a visitor 

kiosk, and a restroom facility will have to be 

added.

• Trail 1 would lead visitors to a fishing area, 

but hikers would walk through cheatgrass 

and possibly spread its seeds into 

sagebrush areas.

• Trail 2 includes a rigorous rock scramble, 

a scenic overlook, a bighorn sheep area, 

and a connector trail to a larger trail system 

called Walker Mesa. Like Trail 1, Trail 2 leads 

hikers through cheatgrass, the seeds of 

which may be spread by hikers to sagebrush 

areas.
Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Pros and cons of each option

Approve Neither Trail

Pros:

• This choice would have the least impact on 

the sagebrush and the bighorn sheep in the 

ecosystem.

• This choice would ensure no one visits the 

heritage area, which is considered sacred 

ground by the tribe. 

• If the cheatgrass threatening the sagebrush 

community can soon be brought under 

better control, Trail 1 could be approved 

in the future, but approving the trail now 

could heighten the risks of expanding the 

range of the cheatgrass.

Cons:

• Local businesses would miss out on money 

that hikers would have spent on food and 

lodging in the area.

• This choice would not allow users of the 

larger trail system in Walker Mesa to 

experience hiking in Camina Vista, nor 

would anyone make use of the fishing lake.

• Fewer visitors to public lands may result in 

fewer supporters of public lands.

Approve Trail 1 Only

Pros: 

• Trail 1 would have less impact than Trail 2 

on the sagebrush and the bighorn sheep in 

the ecosystem.

• Trail 1 would bring some additional visitors 

to the public lands, which may lead to some 

of them becoming supporters of public 

lands.

• Trail 1 would provide hikers with access to 

the fishing lake.

• Trail 1 would protect the heritage area, 

which is considered sacred ground by the 

tribe, from nearly all visitors. 

Cons:

• Trail 1 would attract too few visitors to 

support new restaurants, campgrounds, 

hotels, and other businesses.

• Trail 1 would not connect to the trail system 

in Walker Mesa, so users of that larger 

system would not be able to experience 

hiking in Camina Vista, and Camina Vista 

hikers could not reach Walker Mesa.

• Because hikers have to go through 

cheatgrass to get to the lake, they 

could spread seeds, which could cause 

the cheatgrass to take over the nearby 

sagebrush.

• Hikers would not experience the scenic vista 

and the rock scramble on Trail 2. 
Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Approve Trail 2 Only

Pros: 

• With the scenic view and rock scramble, 

Trail 2 would likely attract enough new 

visitors to support new restaurants, 

campgrounds, hotels, and other businesses.

• Trail 2 would connect to the trail system 

in Walker Mesa, so users of that larger 

system would be able to experience hiking 

in Camina Vista, and hikers in Camina Vista 

could reach Walker Mesa.

• Trail 2 would likely increase the number of 

public lands supporters because they have 

visited and enjoyed the land.

Cons:

• Trail 2 would have more negative 

impacts on the sagebrush, allowing more 

cheatgrass to take hold in the area as hikers 

accidentally spread cheatgrass seeds and 

deposit them in sagebrush.

• Threats to the sagebrush would upset 

ecosystem balance by threatening other 

species that rely on the sagebrush.

• Trail 2 would bring hikers near the bighorn 

sheep and right next to—and possibly 

tempt hikers to enter—the Native American 

heritage area, which is considered sacred 

ground by the tribe.

• Trail 2 would not allow hikers to use the 

fishing lake along Trail 1.

Approve Both Trails

Pros:

• This choice would provide visitors with 

more trail choices to accommodate hikers 

with various levels of hiking ability, hikers 

interested in fishing, and those who want to 

see the scenic view and rock scramble.

• This choice would attract enough new 

visitors to support new restaurants, 

campgrounds, hotels, and other businesses.

• This choice would connect Trail 2 to the 

trail system in Walker Mesa, so users of that 

larger system would be able to experience 

hiking in Camina Vista, and hikers in Camina 

Vista could reach Walker Mesa.

• This choice would likely increase the 

number of public lands supporters because 

they have visited and enjoyed the land.

Cons:

• Because both trails would go through 

cheatgrass, hikers could accidentally spread 

seeds, which could cause cheatgrass to take 

over nearby sagebrush.

• Threats to the sagebrush would upset 

ecosystem balance by threatening other 

species that rely on the sagebrush.

• This choice would bring hikers near the 

bighorn sheep and right next to—and 

possibly tempt hikers to enter—the Native 

American heritage area, which is considered 

sacred ground by the tribe.
Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS
37

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Notes:
38

Classroom Investigation Series, NATIVE PLANTS

Acknowledgments

Tammie Adams, BLM Writer/Editor, National 

Operations Center, Denver, CO

Holly Beck, BLM Natural Resource Specialist, 

Bruneau Field Office, Boise, Idaho

Bibi Booth, BLM Deputy Division Chief, 

Division of Education, Interpretation, and 

Partnerships, Washington, DC

Kevin Flynn, BLM Technical Information 

Specialist, Division of Education, Interpretation, 

and Partnerships, Washington, DC

Megan Haidet, Seeds of Success, National 

Collection Curator for the BLM, Washington, DC

Megg Heath, BLM National Lead, Division of 

Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships, 

Dolores, CO

Janine Koselak, BLM Visual Information 

Specialist, National Operations Center, 

Denver, CO

Olivia Kwong, Plant Conservation Alliance, 

Contractor for the BLM, Washington, DC

Janet Lacey, BLM Education Specialist, 

Division of Education, Interpretation, and 

Partnerships, Washington, DC

Ross Mower, BLM Geocorps Intern, Division of 

Recreation and Visitor Services, Washington, 

DC

Peggy Olwell, BLM Plant Conservation Program 

Lead, Division of Forest, Rangeland, Riparian, 

and Plant Conservation, Washington, DC

Patricia Rizzo, ESOL Instructional Aide, Fairfax 

County Public Schools, Annandale, VA

Catherine Roberts, Middle School Science 

Teacher and Recipient of the Presidential 

Award for Excellence in Mathematics and 

Science Teaching, Chesapeake, VA

Carol Spurrier, BLM Rangeland Ecologist, 

Division of Forest, Rangeland, Riparian, and 

Plant Conservation, Washington, DC

Mary Tisdale, BLM Division Chief, Division of 

Education, Interpretation, and Partnerships, 

Washington, DC

Betsy Wooster, BLM National Lead for Youth, 

Division of Education, Interpretation, and 

Partnerships, Washington, DC

Sources for Definitions

http://forest.mtu.edu/kidscorner/ecosystems/definition.html

http://www.archives.gov/federal-register/codification/executive-order/11987.html

http://www.publiclandsranching.org/htmlres/lucas_grazing_law.htm

http://biodiversity.ca.gov/Biodiversity/biodiv_def2.html

http://www.blm.gov/wo/st/en/prog/more/weeds/weed_definition.html

http://www.blm.gov/or/resources/recreation/tablerock/files/Glossary.pdf
This publication was produced by the Division of Education, 

Interpretation, and Partnerships at the Bureau of Land Management, 

U.S. Department of the Interior. Production services were provided 

by the BLM’s National Operations Center, Information and 

Publishing Services Section. 

Visit www.blm.gov/education to explore the BLM’s resources 

for educators. 

October 2014

BLM/WO/GI-15/001+8301EE 2042a