Puget Sound Prairies Essay

In William Cronon’s book Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, he discuses the ecological history of New England from the late sixteenth century to the early nineteenth century. He demonstrates how the New Englanders changed the land by illustrating the process of the change in the landscape and the environment. In the Preface Cronon states, “My thesis is simple: the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes—well known to historians—in the ways these people organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations—less well-known to historians—in the region's plant

The Maryland ecosystem is being ravaged by several invasive species. These species are introduced into the ecosystem in several ways, with several discoveries of invasive species every year. Whether it be Wavyleaf basketgrass or Purple loosestrife, these plants are capable of outcompeting with native plants and causing devastation to the native ecosystem. These invasive species are damaging to the environment and we should work as a community to halt the spread and limit its impact on the ecosystem of Maryland.

Yellowstone National Park is one of the largest and oldest national parks in American history. Yellowstone was the first park to be protected by private investment on March 1, 1872, and the first to be put under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service in 1918, no doubt due to its unique and inspiring landscape and geothermal features. In fact, Yellowstone National Park is home to half of the world’s total hydrothermal features. These awesome attractions draw an incredible amount of visitors, an average of two to three million each year, to Yellowstone’s immense landscape. The park has a total size of 28,125 square miles, is found in three distinct states, and is considered to be one of the largest

The summers are warm and short. The winters are cold and long. Precipitation ranges from more than 500 mm per year in the north to less than 300 mm in the south of the Prairies. The winter mean temperatures for the coldest months vary from -9.4°C in Lethbridge and -18.3°C in Winnipeg. In contrast, the mean temperature for the warmest month in Winnipeg is 19.7°C. The grasses tend to have long roots which penetrate deep into the soil where they could find moisture. The northern edge of this ecozone marks the beginning of the transition into forest areas. Prior to agricultural settlement in the late 19th century, the Prairie ecozone was the home of millions of bison. Today, mammals of this ecozone include mule and white-tailed deer, coyote, pronghorn (south-central portion), badger, whitetail jackrabbit, Richardson's ground squirrel, northern pocket gopher and the prairie dog. Unique bird species include ferruginous hawk, greater prairie chicken, sharp-tailed grouse, American avocet, burrowing owl, great blue heron, black-billed magpie and Baltimore oriole. Plains grizzlies, swift fox and greater prairie chickens are a few of animals to disappear from the

     Since the beginning of the human race mankind has depended on the natural resources in their environment for survival. They utilized the available flora to nourish their body, heal their wounds, comfort their ailments and to create products to ease their daily lives. Many of the same plants utilized thousands of years ago by the indigenous people have been integrated into modern day medicines. The scientific interest and knowledge of plants for nourishment, healing, and practical uses is called ethnobotany.

Dr. John visited Norfolk State University on behalf of the Department of Ecology at the University of Georgia. He came to share information about invasive plants and the ecological research that he and others have conducted on it; his talk was entitled “Computational Botany for Invasive Species Decision Support, Risk Analysis, and Policy.”

Invasive species are animals, plants, or fungi that are non-native to the place they are currently in. Some non-native species are not invasive, but if the organisms cause harm to the native species, then they become invasive. Some invasive species on the Pacific Northwest are nutria, bullfrogs, and yellow star thistle. These plants and animals ruin the ground, eat whatever they can fit in their mouth, and can cause diseases. These invasive species don’t help the environment or the organisms living in the Pacific Northwest.

Puget prairies are a type of ecosystem that can only be found in small areas in the Puget lowlands as well as in some places in British Columbia. The Puget prairies were created by retreating glaciers thousands of years ago (South Puget Sound Prairies, 2016). The prairies were then maintained by Native American tribes from the surrounding area ("South Puget Sound Prairies," 2016). The Salish tribe systematically burned trees growing into the prairies to maintain the intricate ecosystem, a strategy the prairieland relies on ("The Role of Fire," 2016). Coastal Salish natives lived in the Thurston County prairies long before the arrival of white settlers in 1792. The Salish tribe has since split into the Nisqually, Squaxin, and Chehalis tribes

In our Change Project, we collected a sufficient amount of data and learned information on a endangered species, the Ridgway’s Rail. This environmental issue is not very well-known, which explains the lack of help and volunteering. In this service project, our Change group went to Don Edward and help improved the habit of Ridgway’s Rail. Throughout this project, we tried to spread awareness about endangered species and find ways we can enhance their surroundings. My Change group used this opportunity to not only help prevent the extinction of Ridgway’s Rails, but also to help other species that are living in the same habitat. In order to help the Rails, we tried to figure out the reason behind the destruction of the marsh. Through an experienced volunteer, June Smith, we learned that invasive plants are the culprit of the extinction of the Ridgway’s Rails.

The Endangered Species Act of 1973 states that the terms ‘Endangered’ and/or ‘threatened” may be used when a species ‘is in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range, or are likely to become endangered within the foreseeable future.’The Lesser Prairie-Chicken (LPC) was placed on the threatened species list in the spring of 2014. Since the early 1800’s the population of the LPC has ‘declined significantly’ (NRCS Leaflet 1). I am a 2nd year Pathways Rangeland Student Intern for the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS). I have worked in the Natural Resources field for 12 years and have come to an understanding that informing the public is vital for the continuation of the earth, as we know it. In this informative and argumentative essay I will describe how habitat loss, climatic changes (both natural and human caused), and human activities have and continue to push this species to the brink. Educating private landowners and the public is key to produce resistant plant

Currently, the sagebrush ecosystem is rapidly declining across the Western United States, with over 350 associated plant and animal species at risk of being lost and imperiled. The main reason for the sagebrush decline is the steady encroachment of cheatgrass and pinyon-juniper. The invasion of these plants are fueling larger and more frequent fires that are out competing sagebrush as well as the associated grass species that are native components of the ecosystem, taking over much land that sagebrush once occupied. Cheatgrass was introduced to North America through contaminated grain seed, straw packing material, and soil used as ballast in ships sailing from Eurasia in the late 1890’s and is now the main culprit behind sagebrush decline.

The book entitled, “Ecology of Weeds and Invasive Plants”, opens with a quote from Dr. A. S. Crafts saying, “in the beginning there were no weeds.”. This quote causes one to stop and think about it. What Dr. Crafts meant by this quote was that even though plants have existed for many years, weeds did not exist before humans began to travel about. With all the traveling that humans do the problem of invasive plants has grown tremendously (Radosevich, 1). The impact that invasive species have on the environment is often overlooked or thought of as unimportant. The issue is vast, yet little is done about it. The problem with invasive species is extremely important and will impact the world for generations to come. This paper will explain what invasive species are, show the negative impacts invasive species have on the environment, and what we can do about this issue.

The experiment was conducted in Sheboygan County at three locations of varying distance from Lake Michigan, where they were surveyed for the occurrence of the invasive tree species black locust. The first location, Kettle Moraine State Park, is located 20 miles inland west of Lake Michigan. As its name suggests, this location has a combination of kettles and moraines. Kettles are steep side impressions in a landscape while moraines are linear deposits that accumulated at the edge of an ice sheet. This creates a rolling hill landscape that can create quite the diversity of vegetation. This site was dominated by mostly sugar maple with the occasional red oak and birch. There was very little ground coverage, due to the dense shade cast by the

Although Colorado’s growing population may be beneficial for the economy and social standings in our country, it poses some ecological concerns. According to the Colorado State Demography Office, Colorado’s population has grown by nearly 75% since 1985 (Figure 1). In fact, Larimer County’s population has doubled in that same time period. It has become evident that changes in Colorado’s landscape have been altered due to this population boom. It is within our best interest to evaluate the ecological concerns associated with such anthropogenic disturbances, specifically along the Front Range of Larimer County. By observing and sampling areas where black-tailed prairie dogs (Cynomys ludovicianus) have settled, and where they

Influence on ecosystems range from human causes like the bulldozing of a forest to natural causes like a fire or a flood.  In recent times, the introduction and spread of invasive species has transformed native communities rapidly and, in some cases, created irreversible damages.  In the Earth’s history, changes have often occurred in the ecosystems.  For example, glaciers and the retreat of glaciers cause wide-spread changes.  However, although change is a constant in ecosystems, animals and habitats often cannot adapt to the rapid alterations of non-natural stresses.  Harm to the environment from the introduction of invasive species occurs through changes in the habitat and declines in the native species.  Invasive species