Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site - Flora and Fauna

Flora and Fauna

When the Native Americans encompassed this area, there existed a very different landscape than what can be observed today. During the presence of the tribes, the upland areas were a mixed prairie region that contained a minimal number of trees. The river bottomlands floodplain forests were rich and fertile. This fertile area was utilized by the Native Americans in the production of crops such as corn, beans, squash and sunflowers. Trees such as green ash, cottonwood, American elm and box elder trees were common in the bottomlands. Other smaller trees and shrubs such as sandbar willow, red osier dogwood and buffalo berry were also common.

In 1974, as an effort to preserve the historic value and beauty as it once appeared, the area surrounding the park was transformed back to how it originally looked when the Native Americans occupied the area. The area now contains native short grass prairies, exotic grasslands, 450 acres (1.8 km2) of hardwood forest, cultural village sites, wetland areas and sandbars.

Within some areas of the park, the forest composition has changed very little. A few prairie areas contain wheatgrass, needlegrass, grama grass, big blue stem and many other forbs and flowers. Native wildlife feed on plants such as choke cherry, wild plums, buffalo berry and June berry.

The various vegetative communities within the park are home to many species of wildlife. The surrounding forests are home to white tailed deer, coyotes, beavers, skunks, prairie pocket gophers and thirteen-lined ground squirrels. The park is also home to a large variety of birds. Game birds found here include turkeys, pheasants, Canada geese and mourning doves. Raptors such as owls, red-tailed hawks, bald eagles and kestrels can be spotted. Other birds surrounding the rivers that can be viewed here are white pelicans, snow geese, and great blue herons. The Missouri and the Knife Rivers are home to twenty–six known species of aquatic mollusks within the park.

Within the park limits, insect species are being collected and analyzed. Over 200 different species of invertebrates have been identified. The most common order of insects found here include Coleoptera (beetles), Diptera (flies), Hemiptera (true bugs) Homoptera (leaf hoppers), and Hymenoptera (bees, wasps and ants). Many of these insects are crucial to the diet of park wildlife.

As with everywhere else, the park struggles with the management of exotic invasive species. Exotic plants first appeared when Native Americans and Euro-Americans cleared the forests. Many exotic plants are introduced accidentally but a few were planted deliberately. Exotic plant species include leafy spurge, Canada thistle and sweet clover. The park is currently conducting an inventory and monitoring program to gather information on the plant and animal species present within the park. From this information, the managers will be able to best decide how to manage and control the exotic invasive plants.