America's Northern Plains

An Overview and Assessment of Natural Resources

United States Department of Agriculture
Natural Resources Conservation Service
May 1996

This brochure provides a general overview of the basic natural land resources in the Northern Plains region and their sustainability over time. It also describes the primary external forces (both natural and human caused) which are likely to affect those resources and it identifies projected changes in the resource base.

1996.  America's Northern Plains:  An Overview and Assessment of Natural
     Resources.  U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources
     Conservation Service. 16pp.

1996.  America's Northern Plains:  An Overview and Assessment of Natural
     Resources.  U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Natural Resources
     Conservation Service. 16pp.  Jamestown, ND: 
     Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Online.
     http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/habitat/amnorpln/index.htm
     (Version 15AUG97).

Contents

• Basic Regional Land Resources
  • Diversity
  • National Significance
• Soil Quality and Health
  • Soil Fragility
  • Conservation Needs
    • Erosion rates
    • Irrigation and erosion
    • Conservation tillage
  • Soil Salinity
  • Climate Change
    • Temperature
    • Evapotranspiration and growing-degree days
    • Potential effects of changes
• Water Supply
• Water Quality
  • Surface Water Quality
  • Groundwater Quality
• Grazing Lands
• Forest Lands and Windbreaks
• Wetlands
• Economics
  • Population
  • Settlement Changes
  • Per Capita Income
  • Agricultural Systems
  • Farming Changes
• Regional Monitoring and Research Infrastructure
• Conclusion
• References
• Appendix A. Related Programs
  • NRCS Programs
  • Other Programs that NRCS Supports
  • State Level Mutual Agreements

Figures

• Figure 1: -- Northern Plains region physiography and MLRAs
• Figure 2: -- Rangelands with fragile soils in the Northern Plains region
• Figure 3: -- Forest lands with fragile soils in the Northern Plains region
• Figure 4: -- Distribution of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) in the Northern Plains region
• Figure 5: -- Irrigated cropland 1992, Northern Plains region
• Figure 6: -- Salinity-affected landscapes of the Northern Plains region
• Figure 7: -- Water level changes in the high Plains aquifer, pre-development to 1980
• Figure 8: -- Water level changes in the high plains Aquifer, 1980-1990
• Figure 9: -- Comparison of Northern Plains region and national erosion rates
• Figure 10: -- Distribution of Nitrate-N concentrations in groundwater in the contiguous United States
• Figure 11: -- Breakdown of cattle numbers in the Northern Plains
• Figure 12: -- Tons per acre of soil loss by land use in the Northern Plains
• Figure 13: -- Range condition classes by acres in the Northern Plains
• Figure 14: -- Acres of apparent trend on rangeland in the Northern Plains
• Figure 15: -- Rangeland soils with high potential for wind erosion in the Northern Plains region
• Figure 16: -- Population density in the Northern Plains
• Figure 17: -- Northern Plains per capita income by county

Tables

• Table 1: -- Highly Erodible Land Status, and CRP acres in the Northern Plains Region
  
• Table 2: -- Conservation Tillage Management by State
  
• Table 3: -- Comparison of Climatic Characteristics During the "Dust Bowl" Years with 1961 to 1990 Normals Across the Northern Plains Region
  
• Table 4: -- Surface Water Quality Summary
  
• Table 5: -- State Level Mutual Agreements between NRCS and Other Organizations
  

Acknowledgements

The Northern Plains Regional Office appreciates the contributions of R.D. Nielsen, G.B. Muckel, A. Mendenhall, D.T. Lightle (National Soil Survey Center), and B.C. Wight (National Agroforestry Center) to the development, compilation, and review of this manuscript. We also thank H.R. Sinclair (NSSC), H.P. Terpstra (Iowa State University Statistical Laboratory), S.W. Waltman (NSSC), and J.D. Vrana (NSSC) for their contribution of "Soil Ratings for Plant Growth in the Northern Plains Region," which represents original research and application in this manuscript. Special thanks go to David Buland (NRI Center, Temple, TX) for his work on the demographics and economics sections of this manuscript.

S.C. Stover (NRI Specialist' Northern Plains Region) provided all the NRI analyses and interpretive maps used throughout this document. This substantial contribution to the resource assessment is not simply exemplary but sets the standards and expectations for us all.

The NPRO also thanks the other NRCS Regional Offices for their contributions to the literature review and for their assistance with GIS. In addition, we thank Bonnie Kadavy for manuscript preparation and Dr. Maria Lemon for technical editing, brochure design and layout, and preparation of camera readies.

Strategic Planner
NRCS, Northern Plains Regional Office
Federal Building, Room 240
100 Centennial Mall North
Lincoln, NE 68508-3866 USA