Blue grama and buffalo grass are the backbone of Cheyenne County's prairie

The wide, low grassland that covers most of Cheyenne County is not empty or random. It is a specific ecosystem called shortgrass prairie, and a few tough native plants hold it together.

The two names worth knowing are blue grama and buffalo grass. Both are low, fine-leaved grasses built for a dry place. They send roots deep, go dormant in drought, green up fast after rain, and handle grazing well. On much of the shortgrass prairie, blue grama alone makes up the large majority of what grows. That is why the land can look short and sparse and still feed cattle and wildlife.

This grassland exists because of the climate. Cheyenne County is semi-arid, so there is rarely enough steady moisture for tall grasses or forests. Instead, grazing and the occasional fire have shaped a community of short grasses and small flowering plants that can take the heat, wind, and dry spells.

Why this matters for a landowner or newcomer: native shortgrass is an asset, not a problem to fix. Plowing it up or overgrazing it is hard to undo, and bare ground here blows and erodes.

To learn the plants and how to care for grassland, start with Colorado Parks and Wildlife and the USDA Forest Service plant guides.