As every gardener knows, weeds are a constant scourge and a threat to desirable vegetation.

But most people don't stop to think about how weeds can threaten wildlife as well.

Here in the desert, valuable water resources, ranching and other indigenous plant species also face a constant threat from desert weeds like the tamarisk and knap weed.

In Pahrump and surrounding areas, much of the constant fight against weeds is waged by the Southern Nye County Conservation District (SNCCD) in conjunction with several state and federal agencies.

Everett Bartz, a Bureau of Land Management noxious weed coordinator, is hoping to help stop an infestation of noxious and invasive weeds in Pahrump and surrounding areas.

Bartz has been working with conservation district for a few months now in hopes of creating what he calls a "cooperative weed management area" that includes Amargosa Valley, Beatty and Pahrump.

"These noxious weeds are really something you can't ignore because it takes a lot of effort and money to remove them," Bartz said. "If we can locate a small patch instead of a large patch, it saves everyone a lot of time and money."

Depending on what region of the desert you are in, weeds (classified by the state as noxious or invasive) can have a variety of detrimental affects on the surrounding wildlife and people.

They can drain a region's water source, devalue land and in many cases prove a fire hazard.

Bartz pointed out many of the fires that have occurred in the Spring Mountains were fueled by noxious weeds and briefly speculated what a lit cigarette butt thrown into a dry patch would do.

Teri Knight, resource conservation and development coordinator with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, said a weed is basically "a plant that's in the wrong place."

Knight has also been working closely with SNCCD to work on weed abatement, most recently helping the group to get a $3,500 grant (which SNCCD) will match in kind with work to fund the removal of weeds in the Pahrump area.

The organizations also work on educating the public about noxious and invasive weeds by distributing up-to-date literature on weed removal.

Weed removal on a wildlife scale is more than just donning a pair of thick gloves and gearing up for hard labor -- in the case of public land management, everything from manpower to chemicals are used, and because generally vast tracts of lands have to be covered, the dollars tally up quickly.

Bartz said one of the toughest challenges for his agency is getting land owners to recognize weed problems on property they own.

In Pahrump, Bartz said there were "vacant lots totally inundated" with weeds, a problem not only for the land but for the property owner as well.

"If we keep these lots free of noxious weeds, the value of those lots will go up," Bartz explained.

In some cases, Bartz said people trimmed and fostered weeds without realizing what the plant really is.

"That's the tough part, getting people to recognize they have noxious weeds in their garden," he said.