Grasslands

Tallgrass Prairie (Red River Valley)

The tallgrass prairie once predominantly covered the eastern quarter of North Dakota. The Red River of the North marks the boundary between North Dakota and Minnesota, and today, this area is commonly known as the Red River Valley. Around 10,000 years ago, the region was submerged under a vast glacial lake called Lake Agassiz. The flat terrain and fertile soil left behind by Lake Agassiz make the area ideal for intensive agriculture, producing crops like potatoes, beans, sugar beets, corn, and wheat. By the 20th century, much of the tallgrass prairie had been transformed into farmland, leaving only small patches of native vegetation.

Some of these remnants of natural areas are connected to Lake Agassiz's ancient landscape. Diagonal ridges of sand and gravel formed along the shoreline of the lake, which are still visible today through aerial and satellite imagery. These beach ridges are part of the focus area known as Sand Deltas and Beach Ridges, which also include large fan-shaped sand deltas deposited by the lake. Highly saline areas, where high salt concentrations make farming unsuitable, have remained largely intact. The largest such area lies just west of Grand Forks and is known as the Saline Area or the Grand Forks County Prairie. Compared to the mixed-grass prairie further west, the Red River Valley has fewer wetlands. The landscape is dominated by farmland with woodlot and shelterbelt plantings, although advancements in farming practices have resulted in the removal of many shelterbelts. Several streams, vital to native fish populations, flow across the Red River Valley from west to east and eventually drain into the Red River.

Eastern Mixed-Grass Prairie (Drift Prairie)

The Eastern mixed-grass prairie, also known as the Drift Prairie, serves as a transition zone between the wetter tallgrass prairie to the east and the drier shortgrass prairie to the west. Before settlement, the Drift Prairie had a high concentration of temporary and seasonal wetlands. Wetlands embedded in cropland are often farmed during dry years. Prominent geographic features within this region include the Pembina Hills, Turtle Mountains, and Devils Lake hills, which are included in the forest landscape. A significant area of untilled land, largely due to sandy, gravelly soil from a glacial lake delta, is found in and around McHenry County and south of the Turtle Mountains. Known as the Glacial Lake Deltas focus area, this region retains much of its native vegetation and wetlands. In recent years, irrigation has enabled previously unsuitable areas to be farmed, with crops such as potatoes now growing in these areas. The Souris River riparian zone divides the Glacial Lake Deltas. Another important focus area is the Devils Lake Basin, formed by glacial ice blockage. This area is characterized by a high concentration of larger wetlands or lakes and slightly less grassland than the Glacial Lake Deltas. It is a critical habitat for migrating waterfowl, waterbirds, and shorebirds. The Drift Prairie is relatively flat and has largely been converted to cropland, producing spring wheat, durum, other small grains, canola, corn, beans, sunflowers, and alfalfa. The Sheyenne and James rivers also wind through this region.

Mixed-Grass Prairie (Missouri Coteau)

The Missouri Coteau forms the western edge of glaciation in North Dakota, characterized by its distinctive hummocky, rolling hills that rise 150 to 500 feet above the Drift Prairie. The region is rich in wetlands, with approximately 800,000 basin acres, and alkaline lakes are more common here. Streams and rivers are scarce but intermittent streams occur in low areas. The northern part of the Coteau contains tracts of aspen parkland, though upland deciduous forests are largely absent. A significant portion of native prairie still exists in this region, and livestock grazing is common. Areas with gentler slopes, particularly along the western edge, have been converted to cropland, producing small grains, sunflowers, corn, and alfalfa hay. The Missouri Coteau is renowned for supporting some of the highest densities of breeding ducks in North America. The large amount of remaining or restored grassland and wetlands makes this area critical for numerous species of wildlife, and designation as the focus area Missouri Coteau.

Western Mixed-Grass/Short-grass Prairie (Missouri Slope)

The Western mixed-grass prairie and short-grass prairie is semiarid, unglaciated with level to rolling plains and occasional sandstone buttes or badlands formations. Natural wetland basins are limited, but small creeks and streams are plentiful. Some consider the Missouri River System/Breaks either part of or a boundary between the Missouri Coteau and Missouri Slope, but herein it’s included in the Rivers, Streams and Riparian landscape. Shrub-steppe, an open landscape of sagebrush and perennial grasses, is found in the western one-third of the state, in and around the Badlands. Big sagebrush is found only in the extreme southwest corner of the state, within the Sagebrush Steppe focus area. Land use is primarily dryland farming of crops like spring and winter wheat, barley, sunflowers, corn, and cattle production. A substantial amount of native vegetation remains in the Missouri Slope.

Restored Grassland (Statewide)

Restored grassland is former cropland that has been converted back to grassland by replanting with tame or native grasses and forbs. One of the leading programs for restoring grasslands is the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). Established in the 1985 Farm Bill, this program allowed producers to conserve marginal soils by retiring cropland for contracts of typically 10-15 years. The program provides income for producers and creates valuable wildlife habitat while conserving soil and water. In 2007, there were 3.38 million acres enrolled in CRP in North Dakota. By 2022, CRP enrollment had declined 63% to 1.24 million acres. There are, however, many other grassland restoration initiatives that have been established by various state, federal, and conservation organizations. Restored grasslands are also common on public lands throughout the state, including NDGF wildlife management areas and USFWS waterfowl production areas and refuges.