Central Platte River
Whooping Cranes
North Dakota
Piping Plover Recovery in the
Alkali Lake Core Area
The piping
plover (Charadrius melodus) is a threatened shorebird that nests on open
sandbars and gravelly beaches on the Atlantic Coast, Great Lakes and
throughout the Great Plains. Annually 138 basins are surveyed in North
Dakota and Montana with help from The Nature Conservancy (TNC) and Montana
Fish Wildlife and Parks. Along with TNC, thr has administered funds for a
private stewardship grant to enhance plover nesting habitat on private
lands. Through cooperation with partners, we have removed potential predator
den sites (rock piles, junk piles), removed trees that were potential for
crow and raptor nest and perch sites, and helped set up grazing systems that
exclude cattle from nesting beaches during the early summer nesting season.
Working with private landowners in North Dakota and Montana has been a huge
success. More than 80 landowners annually grant access to monitor plover
nesting. Funds through Partners for Wildlife, the North America Wetland
Conservation Act, Ducks Unlimited, Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program,
Environmental Quality Incentives Program and private stewardship grant money
have been used for project implementation.
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