Click the image above to view our infographic, The Power of the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region (PPR)

The Value of the Prairies:

The Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) is arguably one of the most important wetland regions in the world. The PPR portions of North and South Dakota alone contain more than 19 million acres of grassland, including millions of temporary, seasonal and permanent wetlands. More than 50% of North American migratory waterfowl depend on its mix of wetlands and grasslands. This area is called the “duck factory” because it is the most productive area for nesting waterfowl on the continent.

Functional grassland and wetland ecosystems not only protect the watersheds in which they occur, but also protect downstream waterways and communities. Together, prairie grasslands interspersed with wetlands provide numerous societal benefits, including filtering water, reducing erosion and sedimentation, and absorbing flood waters. When these grasslands and wetlands are lost, serious impacts are felt further downstream in the Mississippi River Basin. Such habitat losses in the PPR have been linked to creation of the hypoxic area, or “dead zone”, which currently exists in the northern Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Mississippi River.

Prairies Conservation Factsheet