U.S. Department of the Interior

U.S. Geological Survey

Fact Sheet 2009–3029

April 2009

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

Printed on recycled paper

Integrated Science for the Nation’s Northern 

Great Plains

The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center (NPWRC) 

conducts integrated research to fulfill the Department of the 

Interior’s responsibilities to the Nation’s natural resources. 

Located on 600 acres along the James River Valley near 

Jamestown, North Dakota, the NPWRC develops and 

disseminates scientific information needed to understand, 

conserve, and wisely manage the Nation’s biological resources. 

Research emphasis is primarily on midcontinental plant and 

animal species and ecosystems of the United States.

During the center’s 40-year history, its scientists have 

earned an international reputation for leadership and expertise 

on the biology of waterfowl and grassland birds, wetland 

ecology and classification, mammalian behavior and ecology, 

grassland ecosystems, and application of statistics and 

geographic information systems.

To address current science challenges, NPWRC scientists 

collaborate with researchers from other U.S. Geological Survey 

centers and disciplines (Biology, Geography, Geology, and 

Water) and with biologists and managers in the Department 

of the Interior (DOI), other Federal agencies, State agencies, 

universities, and nongovernmental organizations. Expanding 

upon its scientific expertise and leadership, the NPWRC is 

moving in new directions, including invasive plant species, 

restoration of native habitats, carbon sequestration and 

marketing, and ungulate management on DOI lands.

Core Science Capabilities

Grounded in long-term and geographically extensive 

efforts, NPWRC research provides scientific understanding to 

support issues such as:

 Land management: sedimentation, fire ecology, invasive 

exotic plant species, restoration of grasslands and wetlands.

 Land use changes: particularly habitat loss and fragmentation.

 Climate change and human effects on native plants and 

animals and their habitat: effects of intensive grazing, modified predator communities, carbon sequestration of wetlands 

and prairie ecosystems, and altered river flows, such as in the 

Missouri River and Platte River. 

 Terrestrial biology: particularly biology of waterfowl, migratory birds, and mammalian predators.

Prairie Smoke (Geum triflorum)

Center Expertise

The expertise and experience of NPWRC’s research staff 

has positioned the center to respond to emerging issues and to 

challenges that require long-term study:

 Assess native communities and populations.

 Develop quantitative monitoring protocols.

 Address issues affecting conservation of endangered or 

threatened species.

 Develop and refine tools for inventory and monitoring.

 Apply statistical, remote sensing, and geographical information systems to wildlife ecology.
North Dakota

South Dakota

Minnesota

Iowa Nebraska

Hot Springs

St. Paul

Ely

Jamestown

EXPLANATION

Main campus Duty station

Highlights of Current Research Program

The strength and breadth of NPWRC’s scientific expertise 

attracts collaborators and support for technical innovation and 

groundbreaking investigations. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, for example, presently funds extensive research efforts 

on the Missouri River to determine the effects of water level 

management on emergent sandbar habitat used by least terns 

and piping plovers and establish monitoring and management 

methods.

In partnership with the National Park Service (NPS), our 

researchers are developing experimental approaches to understanding and predicting the colonization, persistence, and spread 

of invasive plant species. Other NPS work includes research on 

elk population levels and movement in Theodore Roosevelt and 

Badlands National Parks, and work on wolf biology in northern 

Minnesota and in Yellowstone National Park.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) provides 

significant funds for interdisciplinary scientific work of the 

Integrated Landscape Monitoring (ILM) project. The ILM 

Prairie Pilot Study has established a comprehensive monitoring 

strategy for integrated natural resource landscape management 

in the Prairie Pothole Region that also serves as a framework for 

a consistent national approach to monitoring and modeling.

Strengths of the NPWRC include an exemplary reputation in migratory bird (grassland birds and waterfowl) and 

canid (gray wolves, swift fox, and island fox) research. Work 

pioneered by NPWRC researchers on threatened and endangered species continues in partnership with the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service. One such effort investigates the role of fire 

and habitat characteristics in the distribution and abundance of 

yellow rails, Le Conte’s sparrows, and other birds of open and 

woody fens.

Another avian research project studies one of North 

America’s most critical ecosystems for migratory waterbirds—

the Central Platte River Valley (CPRV) and the adjacent Rainwater Basin Area (RBA) in south-central Nebraska. Together 

these two areas form an internationally significant staging area 

for migratory water birds. Several million waterfowl stage for 

spring migration in the CPRV and RBA each year. About 80 

percent of the world population of sandhill cranes stops there 

each spring, including all sandhill cranes that breed in Russia 

and most of the cranes that breed in Canada and Alaska.

The NPWRC has ongoing studies assessing the utility of 

Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) in characterizing wildlife habitat and carbon budgets in forested (Maine, Minnesota), 

riparian (Nebraska, Nevada), shrubland (Nevada, Wyoming), 

and wetland (North Dakota) ecosystems.

Our Mission

To provide and disseminate scientific information 

needed to conserve and manage the Nation’s biological 

resources, with an emphasis on species and ecosystems of the Nation’s interior. Specifically, the center’s 

goals include the following: 

 Evaluate responses of fauna and flora to natural and 

anthropogenic influences. 

 Develop tools for assessing status and trends of 

animal and plant populations. 

 Use integrated, long-term research to model linkages among ecosystem components. 

 Develop the biological knowledge needed to sustain 

and restore ecosystems. 

 Provide the scientific foundation for Federal policies and management strategies related to natural 

resources. 

 Disseminate the latest in technical information and 

research findings to client agencies, conservation 

organizations, and others responsible for the management of our Nation’s natural resources.

Locations of the Center and Duty Stations

The Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center is one of 

18 science and technology centers in the Biological Resources 

Discipline, administratively positioned in the North Central 

Area of the Central Region and geographically located in the 

northern Great Plains. The main campus is in Jamestown, North 

Dakota. In addition, the center maintains duty stations in St. 

Paul and Ely, Minnesota, and in Hot Springs, South Dakota, 

to colocate research scientists with partners in the NPS, the 

USDA, and the University of Minnesota.

For more information, contact:

Director, U.S. Geological Survey

Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center

8711 37th Street SE, Jamestown, ND 58401

Telephone: 701-253-5500 

www.npwrc.usgs.gov