The nature of eastern North Dakota: pre-1880 historical ecology

This book seeks to develop a deeper understanding of how the geologic setting of eastern North Dakota changed through time, how vegetative communities and associated wildlife responded, and how processes such as climate and fire fluctuated. The authors provide glimpses of natural communities of eastern North Dakota, beginning with the Precambrian Era, about 3.5 million years ago. They explore, in greater detail, how grasslands, herbivores, varying weather patterns, fire and indigenous people have interacted during the last 10,000 years, with most emphasis placed on the last 300 years. In their scholarly study, the authors synthesize the observations of 68 explorers traveling in eastern North Dakota, as long ago as the 1700s, with the research of numerous scientists who have worked in the area since the mid-1900s. Much of the text in most chapters consists of pertinent quotations from the writings of the early explorers. Combined with the results of recent research, they provide a basis for answering questions about the nature of the grasslands before they were plowed; the abundance of bison and how they grazed the prairies; the extent of different kinds of woodlands along the margins of lakes and rivers; the effects of Native Americans; the frequency of droughts, floods, and fires; and the abundance of wolves, grizzly bears, elk, prairie dogs, whooping cranes, passenger pigeons, grasshoppers, mosquitoes, and other animals.