Plains and Prairie Potholes Landscape Conservation Cooperative Names New Science Coordinator

The Plains and Prairie Potholes Prairie Potholes
These freshwater marshes are found in the upper Midwestern prairies, especially the Dakotas and Minnesota. Depressions that were created by retreating glaciers about 10,000 years ago;, they fill with water during spring, providing important habitat for waterfowl and many other species. Indeed, the Prairie Pothole Region is often called America’s “duck factory” since around half of the continent’s ducks spend at least part of the year there. The prairie potholes are an important water source, and they help recharge underground aquifers.

Learn more about Prairie Potholes Landscape Conservation Cooperative (LCC) has named Michael M. Olson as the new science coordinator for the LCC.



Olson has been the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) Missouri River Coordinator since October 1999. Prior to that, Olson worked with the Service as an endangered species biologist and an environmental contaminants biologist. Olson earned a Master of Science degree in entomology from North Dakota State University, and a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from St. Cloud State University. He also recently completed the Service’s Advanced Leadership Development Program.



As part of the new position, Olson will remain based in Bismarck, ND, and will serve as a primary resource benefitting the work of the Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC Steering Committee. “Mike’s nearly two decades of scientific research and project management make him the perfect choice to help us identify information gaps and find solutions for the questions we have about landscape-level changes we are seeing across the prairies,” said the Service’s Midwest Regional Director, Tom Melius. “His experience and background make him a valuable shared asset to all the LCC partners across the plains and prairies.



Olson will work with partners within the LCC to initiate, facilitate, integrate, coordinate, and communicate scientific work addressing climate change climate change
Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale.

Learn more about climate change impacts on landscape and habitat conservation. Olson will focus on Strategic Habitat Conservation implementation and administration, including biological planning, conservation design and delivery, assumption- driven research, monitoring/evaluation, and organizational performance. According to the Service’s Mountain-Prairie Regional Director, Steve Guertin, “Mike has brought together information from many different agencies, and across administrative boundaries, to help diverse interests focus on the shared resources of the Missouri River. Because of that experience, and the skill set he brings, he is the ideal person to help the LCC partners meet their conservation missions.”



The Plains and Prairie Potholes LLC is dedicated to the conservation of a landscape unparalleled in importance to a vast array of unique species, including many that are undergoing steep population declines. Geographically, the LCC includes all of North and South Dakota, portions of Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Montana and Wyoming, and across the Canadian border, sections of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.



Work in the LCC is accomplished through a variety of governmental and nongovernmental partners, including the Prairie Pothole, Prairie Habitat, and Northern Great Plains Joint Ventures, numerous Missouri River conservation and management organizations, and more than 20 other conservation partners. The Plains and Prairie Potholes LCC provides additional science support to the conservation community, including supplying specialized expertise in landscape-scale conservation planning and design.



Melius also extended his appreciation to Dr. Pat Heglund, who worked as the interim science coordinator for the LCC. “Dr. Heglund was a critical component to the successful development of the LCC, and developed the solid scientific groundwork needed to help us move forward.”