Zumwalt Prairie

The Zumwalt Prairie is located in Wallowa County in northeast Oregon, United States.

Geography

This grassland is situated a basalt plateau (elevation 3500 - 5500 feet; 1060 - 1680 m) and is dominated by several native bunchgrasses, including Idaho Fescue (Festuca idahoensis), Bluebunch Wheatgrass (Pseudoregnaria spicata), Sandberg's Bluegrass (Poa seconda) and many species of wildflowers. The Zumwalt Prairie is a piece of a once extensive temperate grassland system west of the Rocky Mountains which extended into Canada. ^[1]. The Zumwalt Prairie grassland system remains largely intact unlike most other prairies in North America. This fact can be attributed the Zumwalt high elevation, harsh climate and poor soils which made agriculture difficult ^[2]. Because most of the Zumwalt Prairie escaped the plow much of the important habitat still remains for the plants and animals of this grassland ecosystem.

Plants and animals

Zumwalt Prairie hosts one of the densest concentrations of breeding hawks (Buteo spp.), species include the grassland-dependent ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis), the swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni), the rough-legged hawk (Beteo lagopus), and the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Bald and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a common site soaring high above the prairie. The Zumwalt also supports important breeding populations of grassland songbirds, including Savannah sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis), western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta), vesper sparrow (Pooecetes gramineus), horned lark (Eremophila alpestris) and grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum). ^[3] Grassland birds are highly threatened ^[4] and many need large areas to maintain viable populations. The Columbian Sharp-tailed grouse, the only native grouse to Oregon and one that had been extirpated from the Prairie by 1947 ^[5] is being reintroduced in an effort spearheaded by Oregon Department of fish and wildlife.

Other wildlife includes Belding’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi), northern pocket gophers (Thomomys talpoides), Rocky mountain elk (Cervus elaphus), black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus), black bear (Ursus americanus), cougar (Felis concolor), bobcat (Lynx rufus), badgers and coyotes (Canis latrans) .

Climate

The climate of the Zumwalt Prairie is continental and semi-arid. On average the Zumwalt Prairie receives 15-17 inches of precipitation yearly with the majority of the precipitation coming during the winter months. The summer months of July and August, are dry with a mean monthly rainfall of 1.25 inches (32 mm) and a mean daily maximum temperature of 84 °F (29 °C). Winters are cold with a mean daily minimum temperature of 16 °F (−9 °C).

History

The Chief Joseph band of the Nez Perce were the original human inhabitants of the Zumwalt Prairie who used the area for hunting and gathering in the spring and fall. Euro-American settlement of the area began in the 1850s. The Nez Perce were forced out of the area in the late 1870s after President Ulysses S. Grant officially opened Wallowa County to white settlement.

Present time

Today, the Zumwalt Prairie consists of mostly of privately owned ranches and is used for summer grazing of cattle.

Conservation

The Nature Conservancy (TNC), a non-profit environmental conservation organization, owns and operates a nature preserve on the Zumwalt Prairie. TNC has undertaken several initiatives to understand and protect the biodiversity of the Zumwalt Prairie's ecosystems. These include biological inventories, ecological monitoring, and scientific research.^[6]

Notes

References

• Tisdale, EW. 1982. Grasslands of western North America: The Pacific Northwest Bunchgrass. Pp 232-245 in AC Nicholson, A McLean, and TE Baker (eds.) Grassland ecology and classification (Symposium Proceedings). British Columbia Ministry of Forests, Kamloops, BC, Canada
• Taylor, R. V., 2007. Zumwalt Prairie Conservation Action Plan. The Nature Conservancy. Enterprise, Oregon.
• Hansen, M. et al. 2005. Oregon Management Plan for Columbian sharp-tailed grouse (draft, October 2005). Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Salem, OR.
• Peterjohn, B. G., and J. R. Sauer. 1999. Population status of North American grassland birds from the North American Breeding Bird Survey, 1966-1996. Studies in Avian Biology 19:27-44.

External links

• The Nature Conservancy: Zumwalt Prairie
• ConserveOnline: Zumwalt Prairie