Fort Larned National Historic Site Invasive Plant Monitoring Summary—2025
Owen M. 2026. Fort Larned National Historic Site Invasive Plant Monitoring Summary—2025. National Park Service, Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network, Pecos, New Mexico.
In July 2025, the Southern Plains Inventory & Monitoring Network (SOPN) completed an invasive plant grid-point survey of Fort Larned National Historic Site (FOLS). 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 15 high-priority invasive plants and estimated canopy cover for the species found. To facilitate comparison of invasive plant distribution over time, we included results for the same 15 species from SOPN’s previous grid-point survey, completed in 2016, in this report’s table summaries and maps. Key results include an increase in kochia, an increase in yellow bluestem, and incidental sightings of honey locust encroachment. Of particular concern is the expansion of Johnsongrass in the reconstructed prairie of Burn Unit 8. We recommend periodic chemical treatments of this and other non-native pasture grasses, such as yellow bluestem and smooth brome, in areas where they pose a threat to native grassland. As resources permit, we recommend mitigating the encroachment of honey locust with cut stump treatments. We have provided recommendations for controlling the dense patch of kochia along the nature trail if that area is a treatment priority. Where possible, combining chemical treatments with prescribed burns can increase success. Maps showing distribution and canopy cover for all detected species can be found in Appendix A.
- Type
- Resource Brief
- Authors
- Owen, Merran
- Date of Issue
- 2026-02
- Publisher
- National Park Service, Southern Plains Inventory and Monitoring Network, Pecos, New Mexico.
- Units
- FOLS , 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