Rangeland health assessment of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

Stoneburner, Alexandra; Spaak, Jordan

doi:10.36967/2301132

We assessed rangeland health at 12 locations distributed across Theodore Roosevelt National Monument (THRO) in June 2022. Assessments were conducted using version 5 of Interpreting Indicators of Rangeland Health (IIRH), a qualitative protocol designed to assess departures from reference condition for three rangeland attributes: Soil and Site Stability, Hydrologic Function, and Biotic Integrity. In this report, we review assessment locations and further discuss locations with at least one IIRH attribute rated as a moderate or greater departure from reference, considering them “ecologically compromised” for the purposes of this report; two locations in the North Unit, three locations in the South Unit, and three locations in the Elkhorn Ranch Unit were considered ecologically compromised. Compromised assessment locations in the North Unit departed significantly from reference condition in all three attributes while compromised assessment locations in the South Unit and Elkhorn Ranch Unit departed significantly from reference condition in Hydrologic Function and Biotic Integrity. Across all assessment locations, departure from reference condition was most consistent for Biotic Integrity and Hydrologic Function, primarily due to the presence of introduced grasses. IIRH is a point-in-time assessment protocol and findings do not communicate trends, positive or negative; thus, managers should seek out other pertinent information (e.g., management history) to contextualize the findings of this report before changing management practices.

Rangeland health assessment of Theodore Roosevelt National Park

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