America's Northern Plains

An Overview and Assessment of Natural Resources

Regional Monitoring and Research Infrastructure

Three of the National Science Foundation's Long-Term Ecological Research Sites (LTERS) are in the Northern Plains region-- the Konza Prairie (KS), Central Plains (CO), and Niwot Ridge (CO) sites, which focus on range and alpine ecosystems. These LTERS serve as benchmarks for ecosystem and global change monitoring.

Glacier, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain National Parks are recognized as UNESCO Biosphere Reserves. They serve as benchmark locations for biodiversity and global change monitoring in the Northern Plains region. In addition, more than 70 agricultural research stations and farms, representative of most agricultural MLRAs, are located across the Northern Plains.

Research and collaboration from these sites will provide valuable insights on natural resource conditions and trends into the next century.

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