The 1870 Resistance at Red River and the Saskatchewan Rebellion of 1885 form an important chapter in the history of the Canadian West and are considered pivotal episodes in the development of the region. Despite the presence and participation of the white settlers in certain aspects of these protest movements, especially in the latter, studies have tended to characterize these events primarily as the result of the actions of Louis Riel and the Metis, relegating the role of the whites to a subordinate position in their analyses. This trend has had important consequences for the interpretion of Western Canadian history. As the idea of Western discontent and distinctive regionalism is fundamental in understanding the history of the region, the focus on the Metis role in protests against the Canadian Government has led to the conclusion that Western discontent grew out of the Metis experience and that it was Western, that is, environmental, in origin. However, as Western society and culture were shaped to an astonishing degree by the Ontario immigrants of the 1870's and 1880's, any analysis of the roots of Western discontent must also take into account the white settlers' role in the protest movements of the time. This is especially true for the Rebellion of 1885 as large numbers of Ontario settlers were both present in the West and active in agitation against the government prior to the Rebellion. By placing the general characteristics of the Western white settlers' protest and agitation during the 1870's and 1880's in the context of protests and rebellions elsewhere in North America,, it becomes clear that the settlers' discontent was not the product of the Western identity they shared with the Metis, but rather grew out of the cultural heritage they had brought from Ontario. Although the frontier environment of the West provided reasons for their discontent, it was as "British subjects," not as Westerners, that the settlers protested against the Ottawa government and the "East." In fact, in the same way that the settlers' Ontario culture became that of the West, their protest tradition, derived from their British heritage, determined the characteristics and persistence of Western discontent. Far from imposing their protest tradition on the white settlers, the Metis revealed, by their use of petitions and their appeals to the "rights of British subjects," that it was they who adapted to the form of protest brought to the West by the Ontario immigrants. / Arts, Faculty of / History, Department of / Graduate

The goal of this study was to assess effects of sediment removal on vegetation communities in Prairie Pothole wetlands in North Dakota to determine if this management technique is providing desired results to create conditions for ideal vegetation communities in wetlands that will benefit wildlife. This project consists of vegetation surveys from seasonal wetlands located in Benson, Eddy. Towner. and Wells counties in North Dakota. Three types of wetlands were surveyed: natural (reference), excavated (treatment), and converted cropland. Vegetation surveys were completed in the shallow marsh and wet meadow zones of seasonal wetlands. Sites were sampled using a modified Daubenmire method. Aerial photos were assessed to determine the occurrence of drawdown cycles in wetland sites. Plant communities were analyzed using non-metric multidimensional scaling and multi-response permutation procedure was used to make comparisons between sites. The wet meadow zones and shallow marsh zones of the three types of wetlands were all significantly different (p<0.016) from one another. In general, restored wetlands show vegetation trends that liken natural wetlands while those that have been allowed to recover without restoration tend to be cattail choked. When examining hybrid cattail specifically visual obstruction scores were approximately four times greater in converted cropland sites versus treatment or reference sites. Vegetation composition indicates hydrologic conditions (fresh to brackish conditions) of specific sites and regional distribution are likely influential factors in wetland plant establishment. / North Dakota State University / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service / Ducks Unlimited

Two studies of reconstruction processes in the Northern Great Plains (NGP) are presented. The first study is a retrospective study on United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) managed lands seeded with a high diversity (>15 species) seed mix. Sites were grouped by available management history to find management tactics which may trend sites towards a more successful state. A large amount of variation was captured. Results showed uncontrollable factors may be driving the outcomes of these reconstructions. Attention should be paid to uncontrolled and landscape factors to drive management of each site. A second study investigates a possible method to establish specialized seed mixes. Precision Prairie Restoration (PPR) was used to establish five repetitions of six treatments. Early results are optimistic with several target species becoming established. Future sampling will be needed to determine success of this method.

The impact of agricultural practices on wetland ecosystems in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) has long been recognized but little is understood about impacts on the biogeochemistry of the wetlands at depth. Understanding the relationship of multi-elements within the wetland and surrounding landscape can aid in wetland restoration and provide guidance for wetland management. The objectives of this study were to: 1) identify biogeochemical characteristics of PPR wetlands; 2) identifying differences or similarities in biogeochemical characteristics of the landscape; 3) assess the vertical variation in chemical composition at depth in wetland, wetland and fringe, footslope and backslope soils; and 4) interpret the soil chemistry of undisturbed sites (good quality; prairie vegetation) and disturbed sites (poor quality; cultivated) relative to differences in landscape position locations. A field study was conducted on six disturbed (DW) and 6 undisturbed (UW) wetlands with evaluation of fringe (F), footslope (FS), or backslope (BS) positions. Using redundancy analysis (RDA) with selected environmental variables models of element concentrations at depth in each position were generated. The RDA ordination plots of element concentrations to depth of 1m was constrained by variables sand, silt, clay, depth, bulk density, site, organic matter, electrical conductivity, and pH. Pearson correlation coefficients between soil properties and the five most prominent soil elements differed between landscape positions. Anthropogenic activity likely influenced the subsurface hydrology but differed in physical and chemical properties. These differences appear to be related to the vegetation, levels of soil disturbance of surrounding landscapes and unique chemical and physical characteristics of parent material.

Utah prairie dogs were transplanted onto the site of a former colony located on Jones Bench in the northwestern corner of Capitol Reef National Park. Shrubs on Jones Bench were significantly taller than those found on active colonies of Ut ah prairie dogs located nearby on the Awapa Plateau. Therefore, the Jones Bench site offered an opportunity to test the hypothesis that shrub height is a major inhibitory factor on occupation of sites by prairie dogs. Four sites of 5 ha each were delimited on Jones Bench prior to the transplanting o~ animals. Vegetation treatments were carried out on three of the sites and the fourth was used as a nonmanipulated control . Mechanical treatments by rotobeating and railing were accomplished in late August, 1978. A herbicidal treatment (2,4-D) was done on the third site in the spring of 1979. Shrub height and percent cover were significantly reduced on all three treatment sites. Post-treatment effects on the vegetation during the first year showed that the greatest percent moisture in herbage was found on the railed site, followed by the herbicide, rotobeaten, and control sites. Herbage production was approximately three times greater on the rotobeaten and railed sites than on the control and herbicide sites. Measurements of the visual obstructions of prairie dogs showed that the rotobeaten site had the greatest visibility followed by the railed, herbicide, and control sites. Prior to release of prairie dogs on the study area, 200 artificial burrows arranged in a matrix, were dug with an enginepowered post-hole auger on each site. In late June and early July, 1979, 200 Utah prairie dogs were live-trapped near Loa, Utah. A total of 50 immature males, immature females, mature males, and mature females were released on each site. The animal's fur was dyed with a specific mark representing their respective transplant site before their release. The transplanted animals were monitored daily for 23 consecutive days following the release of the first animals and biweekly thereafter throughout the summer and early fall. Significant differences were found in the number of animals reestablished on each site except between the herbicide treatment and control site. The majority of all animals transplanted moved onto the rotobeaten site; the railed, herbicide, and control sites were selected in decreasing order. Results indicated that when transplanting animals onto sites of former colonies, particularly sites that are overgrown with shrubs, the chances of a successful transplant could be increased by first reducing shrub height and density. Proof of reestablishment at the Jones Bench site will be evident if reproduction is observed in the spring of 1980.

In cases where refuge acquisition or captive breeding programs are not practical or justifiable, wild caught animals are frequently translocated into areas of suitable habitat. Such management programs seldom are designed to account for the behavioral responses of translocated animals to an unfamiliar habitat, breakup of social units, and/or interactions with existing social units in the new habitat. Ongoing efforts to translocate threatened Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens) from areas where conflicts with other land uses are occurring to public land sites have met with limited success. This could be due, in part, to behavioral responses associated with disrupting social units and placing animals in an unfamiliar environment. The purpose of this research was to test a series of hypotheses regarding the behavioral responses of Utah prairie dogs to translocation. Focal animal sampling was used to estimate the durations and frequencies of five behavioral variables and five interaction types at four treatments: control, new site, supplemental site, and new population. In Chapter 1, activity budgets were compared among control animals, animals released into a new site versus a supplemental site, and animals already present at a supplemental site. The objective was to evaluate the relative effects of new and supplemental translocations and the effects of translocations on resident animals. In Chapter 2, the frequencies of interactions were compared among these same treatments to evaluate the effects of translocation on the sociality of Utah prairie dogs as reflected by changes in the frequencies of greeting displays, dominance/subordinance displays, and amicable and agonistic interactions. Chapter 3 compares the activity budgets of animals released at a site containing natural burrows (i.e., new population) and animals released into a site containing artificial burrows (i.e., new site) to a control. Habitat measurements for these treatments were also compared to evaluate the importance of habitat characteristics typical of prairie dog colonies to translocated animals. Hotelling's T2 analyses were used to compare behavioral durations between treatments and log-linear analyses were use to compare behavioral frequencies among treatments. Activity budgets were altered by translocation through tradeoffs between the amount of time spent foraging, being vigilant, exploring the unfamiliar habitat, and minimizing conspicuousness. Predicted changes in interactions frequencies as a result of translocations were not observed. Activity budgets of animals released into the site containing natural burrows did not differ from those of control animals . The most important behavioral consideration is the effects of burrow and habitat characteristics in providing centers of activity and effective predator detection and avoidance.

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The Jackson Prairie Region represents a rare, poorly understood and threatened ecosystem. A review of the literature concerning the ecology, physiography and geology of the Region was undertaken, along with a search of General Land Office (GLO) records for locations of historic prairie patches. The prairie patch location data was transcribed, digitized and inserted as a base map in a Geographical Information System (GIS). A set of current, local conditions indicating suitability for conservation or restoration, along with importance weights for each condition, was derived from stakeholder input. A simple additive weighting technique was used to rank the locations in terms of suitability for conservation or restoration. Historic patch locations were visited and the presence of prairie indicator species noted. The use of GLO records and GIS in this way improves the ability of landscape architects to enhance and preserve an imperiled habitat as they design across multiple scales.