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is an "ice cream" grass,preferred by cattle and sheep and therefore is quickly eliminated from a grassland with heavy seasonal or year-long grazing. Squirreltail (Sitanion jubatum): Squirreltail is a short-lived, summer-dormant, perennial bunchgrass. It is a poor competitor with the annuals and is found primarily on infertile sandy or rocky soils. Other Grasses: Crampton (1974) has recorded a wide assortment of native perennial grasses along the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers including slender wheatgrass(Agropyron trachycallum majus), deergrass, tufted hairgrass,junegrass (Koeleria cristata), pinegrass (Calamagrostis rubescens),prairie wedgegrass (Sphenopholis obtusata),rice cutgrass (Leersia oryzoides), and alkali sacatone (Sporobolus airoides). Establishment and Management Techniques Mimicking Natural Disturbance. Grasslands,especially in dry climates, evolved in environments subject to natural disturbance from fire and grazing by native ungulates. Not allowing some type of disturbance --either natural or artificial --can result in an impoverished habitat: ungrazed grasslands can become dominated by a few species of introduced grasses, with fewer forbs. Also, ungrazed or unburnt grasslands develop a thick thatch in which some raptors find hunting difficult. Several management practices can mimic natural disturbances. Controlled grazing by domestic livestock can be an effective and economical way of manipulating grassland vegetation to produce desired results. Properly timed grazing can invigorate grassland species, decrease undesirable species while increasing desirable species, and increase species diversity. Grazing should utilize rest and/or deferred rotation periods to produce a variety of habitat for wildlife. Grazing should be properly controlled to keep livestock Buckeye Ranch Resource Plan (November, 1993) 143