VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Poa cusickii | Cusick's Bluegrass 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Cusick's bluegrass makes up only a small proportion of the biomass of
the sagebrush communities in which it lives, but it is often taken
preferentially by cattle, especially early in the season [4,42].  Deer,
elk, and mountain goat also use Cusick's bluegrass early in the season
[20,32].


PALATABILITY : 
In eastern Washington, livestock prefer the less plentiful Cusick's
bluegrass over bluebunch wheatgrass or Sandberg bluegrass [4,29,41,42].

In eastern Oregon, Cusick's bluegrass is rated moderately palatable to
livestock, deer, and elk in early summer, and less palatable as plants
mature in July [20].  

The degree of use shown by livestock and wildlife species for Cusick's
bluegrass in several other western states has been rated as follows [6]:

                      CO        MT       UT        WY
Cattle               good      good     good      good
Sheep                good      good     good      fair
Horses               good      good     good      good
Pronghorn            ----      ----     fair      fair
Elk                  ----      ----     good      good
Mule deer            ----      ----     good      fair
White-tailed deer    ----      ----     ----      fair
Small mammals        ----      ----     good      good
Small nongame birds  ----      ----     fair      good
Upland game birds    ----      ----     fair      fair 
Waterfowl            ----      ----     fair      poor


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
Cusick's bluegrass has a fair energy rating and a relatively poor
protein content [6].


COVER VALUE : 
The value of of Cusick's bluegrass as cover for small animals has been
rated as follows [6]:

                        UT      WY
Small mammals          fair    good
Small nongame birds    fair    good
Upland game birds      poor    fair
Waterfowl              ----    poor


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
NO-ENTRY


OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Cusick's bluegrass decreases with continuous grazing or heavy grazing
early in the growing season.  As a palatable, early-season grass that
grows on dry sites, it is especially vulnerable to overgrazing [43,44].
Cusick's bluegrass meadows in poor to very poor condition are common in
eastern Oregon.  When livestock grazing is managed according to the
condition of graminoids on more mesic downslopes, Cusick's bluegrass
invariably declines [43].

Annual production in Cusick's bluegrass meadows of eastern Oregon in
good condition is approximately 2,800 lbs/acre (dry weight).  In poor
condition, production is about 600 lbs/acre (dry weight).  Volland [43]
provides rangeland and soil rating guidelines for Cusick's bluegrass
meadows and other eastern Oregon grassland communities.

Cusick's bluegrass declined under moderate-intensity grazing in eastern
Washington.  Cusick's bluegrass had a 39 percent reduction in leaf
length and a 20 percent reduction in flowering culm length.  The
proportion of grass plants with flowering culms was 62 percent lower on
grazed plots than on ungrazed plots.  The number of flowering culms per
plant may also be lower.  Cusick's bluegrass was more adversely affected
by grazing than bluebunch wheatgrass or Thurber needlegrass (Stipa
thurberiana) [30].

Related categories for Species: Poa cusickii | Cusick's Bluegrass