Prairie dogs create unique patches of habitat ideal for mountain plovers. In shortgrass prairie, prairie dog grazing promotes the short grasses like buffalo grass and grama grasses, and their digging creates areas of bare soil important for plover nesting. Prairie dog towns also attract many species of insects. Mountain plovers will forage on slopes and ridges. Adults with young have been observed in tall vegetation and around livestock watering facilities, which probably provide an abundance of insects.
Adults also use plowed fields.
The wintering habitat of the mountain plover is similar to that used in the summer. Flocks can be found on coastal prairies, alkaline flats, plowed fields and cropland. Nebraska Distribution Map Limiting Factors Human activities have had the greatest effect on the distribution and number of mountain plovers. Declining numbers were attributed to market hunting, but even after hunting was abolished, mountain plover numbers continued to fall. This sustained population decline is the result of habitat loss and the effects of environmental contaminants.