Once an extensive prairie composed of mid-length perennial grasses such as bluebunch wheatgrass ("Agropyron spicatum") and Idaho fescue ("Festuca idahoensis"), today virtually all of the Palouse Prairie has been plowed or overrun by non-native species such as cheatgrass. The native prairie is one of the most endangered ecosystems in the United States (Noss et al. 1995), as only a little over one percent of the original prairie still exists. The only large preserved patches of this ecosystem left are found in Hells Canyon National Recreation Area and in the southern portion of Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area.