From the text ... 'As the cost of both mechanical and chemical treatments continues to rise and public sentiment against use of herbicides increases, interest in prescribed burning also is increasing. Unfortunately, many land managers and property owners hesitate to use prescribed burning because fire is often viewed as a destructive force, not as a tool for management. Information concerning the effect of fire on perennial bunchgrasses and associated species often is considered inadequate for ecologically sound fire prescriptions.This study provides additional insight into some impacts of prescribed burning on mountain big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. vaseyana) communities. Mountain big sagebrush is the mesic subspecies of big sagebrush, and, therefore, bunchgrasses associated with it are relatively mesic species or ecotypes in comparison to bunchgrasses associated with Wyoming or basin big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata subsp. wyomingensis and tridentata, respectively). Several researchers have stressed the importance of differences in ecological potential associated with sites supporting different subspecies of big sagebrush. Thus, the results of this study must be interpreted in the context of mountain big sagebrush communities.'