The concept for weed management areas (WMAs) comes from the Guidelines for Coordinated Weed Management of Noxious Weeds in the Greater Yellowstone Area, a document put together by managers in three states to control undesirable plants that were spreading in 20 million acres that includes National Forests, National Parks, federal reservations, state lands and parks, National Wildlife Refuges, Bureau of Land Management lands, Bureau of Reclamation lands and private lands. In a typical Weed Management Area, partners come together and delineate boundaries of an area on the ground and work to get all land owners in that area to contribute to the management of a designated weed species. Often the area delineated does not follow jurisdictional boundaries, but it based on the location of a weed infestation or an area where it is high priority to detect and control weeds. The partners work together to plan and budget weed management both in the long term and seasonally.

BLM Colorado supports forming WMAs because they are the most effective and cost efficient way to manage weeds. They are a high priority for BLM funding at both the state and national level. Both, The Colorado Noxious Weed Management Fund and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Pulling Together Initiative target weed management area partnerships for matching funds.