Mixed-Grass Prairie Conditions at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, 2009–2016
Daw S and Borgman E. 2019. Mixed-Grass Prairie Conditions at Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, 2009–2016. National Park Service
Native mixed-grass prairie once stretched from the Rocky Mountains to beyond the Mississippi River. Today, displaced by agriculture and development, and invaded by exotic plants, intact mixed-grass prairie now occupies a tiny fraction of its original range, with remnant patches in Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument. Since 2006, the Rocky Mountain Network has been monitoring soil and plants—particularly invasive annual bromes such as cheatgrass and Japanese brome—at 32 sites. This brief summarizes a 2019 report1 of status and trends from 2009 to 2016 in the monument. Page 2 of this brief is a summary table of conditions. Results can help park managers understand if conditions have changed, the potential drivers of change, and the current threat from invasive plants.