• IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE
• PALATABILITY
• NUTRITIONAL VALUE
• COVER VALUE
• VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES
• OTHER USES AND VALUES
• MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:

Letterman's needlegrass provides valuable forage for many species of wildlife and domestic livestock. It is consumed by mule deer, white-tailed jackrabbits, and northern pocket gophers [20,21,37,57,64]. This species begins growth early in the year and like most needlegrasses remains green throughout a relatively long growing season. This pattern of development enables animals to use Letterman's needlegrass when many other grasses are unavailable. It is grazed in early spring before fruits have developed as it becomes less palatable when mature. It is usually grazed in the fall only if the fruits are softened by rain [22].

PALATABILITY:

Letterman's needlegrass is palatable to many species of wildlife and livestock. It is generally most palatable early in the season before the foliage becomes coarse and wiry [61]. The awns and/or calluses of many needlegrass species become sharply pointed at maturity, causing grazing animals to avoid them after they mature. These sharp plant parts can injure livestock [18], but such injuries have not been well documented for Letterman's needlegrass. Vallentine [63] reported that the awns of Letterman's needlegrass are apparently not harmful to livestock.

In Utah, Letterman's needlegrass is considered a fair to good cattle forage but a relatively poor domestic sheep forage [63]. The palatability of Letterman's needlegrass to livestock and wildlife has been rated as follows [18]:

	CO	MT	UT	WY
Cattle	Fair	Good	Fair	Good
Domestic sheep	Fair	Fair	Poor	Good
Horses	Fair	Good	Fair	Good
Pronghorn	—	—	Fair	Fair
Elk	Good	—	Good	Good
Mule deer	—	—	Fair	Good
White-tailed deer	—	—	—	Good
Small mammals	—	—	Fair	Good
Small nongame birds	—	—	Fair	Good
Upland game birds	—	—	Good	Good
Waterfowl	—	—	Poor	Poor

 

NUTRITIONAL VALUE:

Letterman's needlegrass is rated fair in energy value and poor in protein content [18]. Carbohydrate levels of Letterman's needlegrass vary depending on phenological stage. Representative total available carbohydrate values for this species on a typical mountain range in Utah (northeast of Logan) follow [19]:

Roots (May 1)	86.7 mg/g
3-leaf stage (May 18)	49.2 mg/g
End of May	107.1 mg/g
Boot stage (July 12)	112.4 mg/g
Approaching maturity (August 27)	120.4 mg/g

 

COVER VALUE:

Letterman's needlegrass provides some cover for small birds and mammals. The degree to which Letterman's needlegrass provides cover for wildlife is rated as follows [18]:

	UT	WY
Small mammals	Fair	Good
Small nongame birds	Fair	Good
Upland game birds	Fair	Fair
Waterfowl	Poor	Poor

 

VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:

Letterman's needlegrass has been used successfully in revegetating mine spoils at several sites in Idaho [48]. This species also has good potential for erosion control [26].

OTHER USES AND VALUES:

No entry

MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:

On Utah ranges, Letterman's needlegrass tends to increase in response to heavy grazing by domestic sheep. It apparently decreases in response to light cattle and horse grazing [8,22,39,63].  In the absence of grazing, Letterman's needlegrass competes poorly with such species as Kentucky bluegrass and Thurber fescue [40]. In Utah, Ellison [22] found that it was not present on dry sites that had not been grazed.

Related categories for SPECIES: Achnatherum lettermanii | Letterman Needlegrass