World Wildlife Fund

© Steve Morello

The Northern Great Plains boasts an exceptional range of wildlife. Home to some 1,595 species of plants, 300 birds, 95 mammals and no fewer than 220 kinds of butterflies, the Northern Great Plains ecoregion is an amazing showcase for biodiversity — and for pioneering new methods of species conservation and habitat restoration, many carried out by WWF and its local partners.

American bison
Bison once numbered 30-60 million in the Great Plains. An icon of the plains, males weigh up to 2,000 pounds and measure six feet high at the shoulder. Bison are highly adapted to life on the plains: for example, in winter their metabolism slows to 25 percent of its summer rate to conserve energy when forage becomes scarce. Bison populations were decimated in the 1800s when the commercial market for bison hides exploded, and Easterners traveled to the Great Plains to shoot bison for sport.

Today, bison no longer fulfill their ecological role in shaping the prairie - with the exception of one or two of the larger protected areas within the Northern Great Plains. Even so, these areas are still too small to allow bison the full range of their ecological interactions.  

Fewer than 30,000 of North America's 500,000 bison are in conservation herds and fewer than 5,000 are free-ranging and disease-free. Most bison herds contain individuals with cattle DNA, the result of historic attempts to cross-breed the two species, and thus the integrity of the bison genome is at risk. Bison herds need to be reestablished on a scale that reduces the risks of genetic erosion posed by small herd size, and to allow the full expression of ecological, behavioral and evolutionary relationships and processes.
 

© Daniel J. Cox / NaturalExposures.com

Black-footed ferret
The black-footed ferret, found only in the Great Plains, is the one of the most endangered mammals in North America because its principal prey, the prairie dog, has been reduced to two percent of its original abundance. Few species have edged so close to extinction as the black-footed ferret and recovered. Once believed extinct, in 1981 a small population was discovered in Meteste, Wyoming. Today, captive breeding and reintroduction of ferrets has slowly rebuilt the population in the wild to around 500 animals. However, small prairie dog populations and plague continue to thwart the recovery of the ferret. Extraordinary restoration efforts are needed to save this species from sliding back to and over the precipice of extinction. The ferret also acts as an umbrella species for other prairie dog associates like the burrowing owl and mountain plover, making it all the more crucial to undertake initiatives on its behalf. WWF has been working to save the black-footed ferret and the prairie dog population upon which the ferrets depend.

© WWF / Tom Lalley

Black-tailed prairie dog
The prairie dog once occupied numerous and very large colonies and historically numbered in the billions across the Great Plains. The species is an engineer of its environment, churning soil, creating burrows, cutting down plants and clearing ground, and in the process creating habitat and serving as food for numerous other species. Extensive prairie dog towns also perform ecosystem functions such as soil formation and water filtration. 

Prairie dogs share their burrows with burrowing owls, toads, salamanders and even rattlesnakes. However, massive government-sponsored poisoning programs, private eradication efforts, and destruction of habitat have reduced the black-tailed prairie dog to just two percent of its former abundance. Sylvatic plague further threatens prairie dog populations. Consequently, the prairie dog's crucial role in the prairie ecosystem is almost extinct, and species that depend on it, such as the black-footed ferret, are in decline. 

We urgently need to restore large populations of prairie dogs to bring back a healthy and diverse prairie ecosystem. WWF has led in efforts to restore prairie dogs as a key step in reinvigorating the Northern Great Plains ecosystem. 

© Steven Morello

Pronghorn
The pronghorn is the fastest hoofed animal in North America, capable of achieving speeds up to 60 mph. Pronghorn require large areas: they are the only large mammal in the southern half of North America exhibiting long-distance migration, one of the most dramatic, yet imperiled, biological phenomena. Seasonal migrations of 300 miles have been documented, making pronghorn second only to caribou in the North American migration sweepstakes. 

Intensified agriculture, subdivisions, roads and energy developments all threaten the migratory routes and populations of pronghorn.  Climate change is predicted to lead to more and longer droughts in semiarid regions. If pronghorn habitat becomes drier, herds restricted to these arid zones could be jeopardized. The pronghorn's critical winter and fawning ranges as well as its seasonal travel corridors have undergone attrition. The pronghorn is therefore more vulnerable to drought and severe winters, and the prognosis for maintaining substantial populations throughout the 21st century is not good. 

WWF's initiatives to create large and uninterrupted conservation areas in the Northern Great Plains ecoregion will improve the pronghorn's chances. 

© Valerie Bruchon / APF

Native grasses
Intact native grasslands are crucial for prairie conservation, as they provide the bedrock for biodiversity and are very hard to reestablish once destroyed. Currently nearly half of the Northern Great Plains remains untilled. However, conversion of native prairie - driven largely by agriculture - is a continuing threat.