SHN Transmission Line

  • dakota skipper prairie habitat in western north dakota

Few consulting firms have staff qualified to identify high-quality native prairie habitat, and even fewer are approved to survey for the federally-listed Dakota skipper, a prairie obligate insect species. Thus, MNR is uniquely qualified for projects proposing impacts to grasslands within the Northern Great Plains.

Client: Oil and Gas Infrastructure

Location: Central North Dakota

Services Provided:   

  • Dakota Skipper Habitat Mapping

  • Dakota Skipper Occupancy Surveys

This project involved proposed modifications to an existing 16-mile transmission line in central North Dakota. Due to its location within the range of the federally-threatened Dakota skipper (Hesperia dacotae), surveys for potential suitable habitat were required by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Habitat mapping, conducted concurrently with wetland delineations, targeted suitable prairie habitats as defined by the USFWS. Field staff identified and delineated polygons of potential Dakota skipper habitat on the ground. Documentation included estimating the cover of native graminoids, native forbs, and trees/shrubs, as well as noting the presence of key indicator plant species.

Subsequent occupancy surveys were led by Senior Botanist Otto Gockman, who holds a federal recovery permit for the species. These efforts resulted in the documentation of 16 Dakota skipper individuals in a county where the species was believed to have been extirpated.