Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site Invasive Plant Monitoring Summary—2024
Owen M. 2025. Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site Invasive Plant Monitoring Summary—2024. National Park Service, Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network, Pecos, New Mexico.
In August 2024, the Southern Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (SOPN) completed an invasive plant grid-point survey of Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site (BEOL). Grid-point surveys are an element of our Exotic Plant–Early Detection Protocol and provide data on the extent and distribution of invasive plants within the park interior landscape. At each grid point, we surveyed a 10-m-radius circle for 13 high-priority invasive plants and estimated canopy cover for the species found. The most frequently found species were two annual forbs: kochia and Russian thistle, recorded at 76% and 63% of grid points, respectively. The remaining species were found at lower frequencies (8% of grid points or less), but included aggressive species of concern, such as tamarisk, Russian knapweed, and Canada thistle. Bermudagrass, Russian olive, and perennial pepperweed were recorded in our grid-point surveys for the first time, though all were previously known to occur at BEOL. We recommend kochia as a primary target for long-term management and control, and, as resources permit, we recommend initiating management of the growing number of invasives in the park bottomlands, beginning with perennial pepperweed. Maps showing distribution and canopy cover for all recorded species can be found in Appendix A.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Owen, Merran
- Date of Issue
- 2025-05
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network, Pecos, New Mexico.
- Units
- BEOL , SOPN
- Keywords
- Exotic Plant Brief, Exotic Plant Monitor, exotic plant monitoring, Exotic plants, invasive plant, invasive plant monitoring, monitoring
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Invasive Species | Invasive/Exotic plants