Let's beat buffel.
That's the fervent rallying cry from a group organizing its fourth annual Beat Back Buffelgrass Day on Feb. 5.
The nonprofit Southern Arizona Buffelgrass Coordination Center is seeking at least 1,000 volunteers to help in an assault on the destructive, non-native grass at sites around Tucson.
Among those spurring the effort and taking part: members of the University of Arizona softball team and their coach, Mike Candrea.
The 8-to-11-a.m. work event is "meant to raise awareness of the buffelgrass invasion of the Sonoran Desert and its consequences to the native vegetation," said Lindy Brigham, executive director of the Buffelgrass Coordination Center.
"Last year, we had 12 sites around the valley with 527 people participating," Brigham said. "This year, we're shooting for over a thousand participants with the help of the UA softball team and Coach Candrea."
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Team members will help dig up buffelgrass along the Rillito River near Brandi Fenton Park.
Buffelgrass - a fast-growing, highly flammable African grass - was introduced into the United States in the early 1900s to control erosion and feed cattle.
As it spread and flourished, scientists and ecologists realized it was bringing destructive side effects. Among them:
• Taking over terrain and water supplies needed by native species.
• Providing fuel for raging fires that can wipe out desert plants and threaten property.
"Buffelgrass is very competitive," said Julio Betancourt, a senior scientist with the U.S. Geological Survey and a leader in efforts to stop the spread of buffelgrass. "Unlike most non-native grasses here, this one behaves like a shrub - and it can outcompete native shrubs and cacti for space.
"In places where it has thrived, we can see that diversity (of vegetation) has declined," Betancourt said. "There are places in Arizona where we're seeing saguaro stands embedded in an African grassland."
The flammability and resilience of buffelgrass pose a threat.
"Buffelgrass burns really fast," Betancourt said. "It can burn a football field in about three minutes."
After fires, buffelgrass is more likely to thrive than the original vegetation.
"Buffelgrass recovers almost immediately and comes back even denser than before - at the expense of native shrubs and cacti that don't recover and die off," Betancourt said.
He said the threat isn't confined to the ecosystem. It also endangers people and property.
"There may be people who don't care that much about bushes and berries - people who are not sentimental about the Sonoran Desert and its biodiversity," he said. "But even for those people, buffelgrass will create a fire risk to health, life and property."
The grass has turned up at many sites around Tucson - including Saguaro National Park, Pima County parklands and in countless backyards.
Contact reporter Doug Kreutz at dkreutz@azstarnet.com or at 573-4192.
