In the US West, Researchers Consider a Four-Legged Tool to Fight Two Foes: Wildfire and Cheatgrass

Cheatgrass first spread across the U.S. West in the 1800s, carried by settlers and in contaminated seed and straw. The spikey, droopy, almost hairy plant spreads like a weed, chokes out native grasses, and, once dry, lights up like kindling.  It’s now abundant in large swaths of the West, including a...