Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
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Our Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center's priority is to continue the important work of the Department of the Interior and the USGS, while also maintaining the health and safety of our employees and community. Based on guidance from the White House, the CDC, and state and local authorities, we are shifting our operations to a virtual mode and have minimal staffing within our offices.
Migratory Bird Center of Excellence
The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is known for its long history of meeting the migratory-bird research needs of Department of the Interior and the Nation.
NPWRC HistoryMeet the Northern Prairie Staff
Our employee directory contains names, position titles, phone numbers, email addresses, and biographies of Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center staff.
Employee DirectoryNPWRC Science Topics
Science conducted by Northern Prairie scientists can be grouped into six primary research topics:
NPWRC ScienceNews
Honey Bee Helpers: It Takes a Village to Conserve a Colony
Do you eat fruits and vegetables? What about nuts? If so, you can thank an insect pollinator, usually a honey bee. These small insects play a major role in pollinating the world’s plants, including those we eat regularly. They also increase our nation’s crop values each year by more than 15 billion dollars.
Scientists Collecting Bird Data on Grasslands in Montana this Spring
Now through late July, 2018, U.S. Geological Survey scientists will conduct fieldwork on public lands in Phillips and Valley counties near Malta and Glasgow, Montana, as part of a grassland bird project.
Public Invitation: Jamestown Science Center Opens Doors for Interactive Experience
The public is invited to attend a free, family-friendly open house at a local U.S. Geological Survey center for ecology research on Saturday, September 16.
Publications
Population and harvest dynamics of midcontinent sandhill cranes
Sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) inhabiting the midcontinent of North America have been hunted since the 1960s under management goals of maintaining abundance, retaining geographic distribution, and maximizing sustainable harvest. Some biologists have raised concerns regarding harvest sustainability because sandhill cranes have lower...
Pearse, Aaron T.; Sargeant, Glen A.; Krapu, Gary; Brandt, David A.
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Merlin (Falco columbarius)
The key to Merlin (Falco columbarius) management is maintaining an interspersion of groves of deciduous or coniferous trees for nesting and open grasslands for hunting. Merlins do not build their own nests but rather use former nests of other bird species, including those of corvids (crows, ravens, and magpies) and accipitrids (hawks). In recent...
Konrad, Paul M.; Shaffer, Jill A.; Igl, Lawrence D.
The effects of management practices on grassland birds—Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii)
Keys to Sprague’s Pipit (Anthus spragueii) management include providing suitable grassland habitat, especially native prairie, with intermediate vegetation height and low visual obstruction, and controlling succession therein. Sprague’s Pipits have been reported to use habitats with no more than 49 centimeters (cm) average vegetation height, 4–14...
Shaffer, Jill A.; Igl, Lawrence D.; Johnson, Douglas H.; Sondreal, Marriah L.; Goldade, Christopher M.; Nenneman, Melvin P.; Wooten, Travis L.; Thiele, Jason P.; Euliss, Betty R.