Every spring, the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) teems with duck calls and wings splashing on water. Shallow ponds glisten amidst rolling grasslands and farmlands, filled with waterfowl returning from the south to nest and raise their young. Spanning Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, Iowa, and southern Canada, the PPR is often called the cradle of North

The Four-Square Mile Breeding Waterfowl Survey (FSMS) is a targeted, long-term monitoring initiative established by scientists from the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center to assess the contribution of National Wildlife Refuge System land in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region (US-PPR). Initiated in 1987 and managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) Habitat

Minnesota’s wetland restoration efforts are working to address the loss of critical habitat across the Prairie Pothole Region, with key projects at Butler Lake, Moore Slough Wetland Protection Area (WPA), and Herberger Lake Wetland Management Area (WMA). These initiatives, driven by partnerships among federal agencies, non-government conservation organizations, and private landowners, restore vital ecosystems that

Brian and April Fox of Turner, MT were recently honored as the 2024 MT Ducks Unlimited (DU) Landowner of the Year. DU Biologist Adam McDaniel expressed a deep respect for how Fox has managed his operation and the well-being of the land as he presented the award. “Brian exemplifies the kind of rancher we like

Thanks to the help of partners and supporters, TNC has reached a major milestone in conservation. The Nature Conservancy (TNC)—a conservation organization committed to building a future where both people and nature thrive—announced a significant milestone: 1 million acres protected across Minnesota, North Dakota and South Dakota. For more than 65 years, TNC’s Minnesota, North

The Ranchers Stewardship Alliance (RSA) is proud to announce Jacquelyn (Jacquie) Evans as the recipient of the 2024 Gold Star Award. Evans, the Science Integration Specialist with the Prairie Pothole Joint Venture (PPJV), received this prestigious accolade on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, at the Matador Ranch Science Symposium. The Gold Star Award is presented annually

https://youtu.be/rBgGYeEyxho The U.S. Geological Survey at Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) has a robust history of studying pollinators and pollinator habitat demonstration plots to illustrate the multiple benefits these lands provide. Like our native prairies, pollinator habitat requires active management to thrive – without proper management, the ecological and economic value of the habitat

While the monarch is iconic for its status as an imperiled butterfly, there are other less-known butterflies on the prairie that deserve just as much recognition for their status as prairie jewels: the prairie skippers. Like all butterflies, skippers have wings made of scales; when the sunlight reflects just right, these scales shine like brilliantly

The Dakota skipper is a small, threatened butterfly endemic to the northern Great Plains that is emblematic of undisturbed native mixed-grass and tallgrass prairie. It was first proposed for listing in 1978 due to population declines and range contraction from habitat loss and degradation, and in 2014 was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered

The PPJV is excited to announce that Lauri Hanauska-Brown has been selected to take up the mantle as the JV Coordinator after a monthslong search. With the PPJV partnership celebrating its 35th Anniversary in 2022, the coordinator plays a vital role in keeping this conservation engine running. Hanauska-Brown joins the team in a period of

We’ve all seen the reports: grassland birds are declining more rapidly and more consistently than birds from any other habitat group in North America. These changes are particularly important in the Prairie Pothole Region, which has the greatest number of grassland bird species and some of the highest densities of grassland birds in North America

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has several financial assistance programs that can be leveraged to improve and restore wildlife habitat. Their flagship program is the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP), where NRCS works with producers to develop conservation plans that outline practices and activities to address resource concerns on their property. In many states,