Northern Great Plains Field Work

In early June, GSS staff members Nick Lemcke, Jeff Knopf, and Darren Omoth conducted fieldwork in north central North Dakota for an upcoming wetland mapping project designed with the purpose of creating a detailed wetland inventory to provide understanding of habitat conditions and management options for our U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service partners.  The fieldwork covered the counties of Renville, Bottineau, Rolette, McHenry and Pierce.  Field notes and pictures were acquired in order to document the landscape, vegetation, soil and hydrology at check site locations to establish a guide for identifying and classifying wetlands.     

The highlights were time spent in the Upper Souris and J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuges, primarily river valley wetland habitats which provide sanctuary for waterfowl and migratory birds.  The trip also brought the team into North Dakota’s Turtle Mountains.  These forested glacial-formed mountains are covered with hundreds of lakes and ponds.  A perfect representation is the Wakopa Wildlife Management Area, which is found on the eastern side of the Turtle Mountains.  Although only 700–800 feet above the plains, they are truly mountainous against the flat topography of the surrounding landscape.