USGS Fact Sheet 2012–3040: The Cottonwood Lake Study Area, a Long-Term Wetland Ecosystem Monitoring Site

The Cottonwood Lake Study Area, a Long-Term Wetland Ecosystem Monitoring Site

By David M. Mushet and Ned H. Euliss Jr.

Abstract

The Cottonwood Lake study area is one of only three long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring sites in the prairie pothole region of North America; the other two are Orchid Meadows in South Dakota and St. Denis in Saskatchewan. Of the three, Cottonwood Lake has, by far, the longest continuous data-collection record. Research was initiated at the study area in 1966, and intensive investigations of the hydrology, chemistry, and biology of prairie pothole wetlands continue at the site today. This fact sheet describes the study area, provides an overview of wetland ecology research that has been conducted at the site in the past, and provides an introduction to current work being conducted at the study area by USGS scientists.

First posted March 22, 2012

Report PDF (745 kB)

For additional information contact:
Ned (Chip) Euliss, Jr., or David M. Mushet
Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center
8711 37th Street SE, Jamestown, ND 58401
Jamestown, ND 58401
www.npwrc.usgs.
gov/cottonwood.html.

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Suggested citation:

Mushet, D.M., and Euliss, N.H. Jr., 2012, The Cottonwood Lake study area, a long-term wetland ecosystem monitoring site: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 2012–3040, 2 p.