Previous Northern Great Plains content

The region is predominantly rural with few urban areas greater than 100,000 people (notable exceptions include Billings, Montana, with a population of 110,000; Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska, with populations of 289,000 and 478,000, respectively; Fargo, North Dakota, with a population of 125,000; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with a population of 184,000). Most towns in the region are small agricultural communities with strong connections to the land.

Tribal nations inhabit and manage large land bases and are important decision makers and partners for regional governments. Tribal nations and tribal organizations continue to shape natural resource management, water rights, and energy development, which are all critical to climate adaptation throughout the region and influence policy across the U.S. (see, for example, the Winters Doctrine, the Dakota Access Pipeline protests, and the Keystone XL pipeline).

Water is critical to the Northern Great Plains and variability in seasonal and/or annual precipitation can have big impacts. Both droughts and floods, along with other extreme events, are a common occurrence in the region.

The region experiences all four seasons, with large differences in temperature and precipitation throughout the year. Although this is typical, it is worth noting that some of the hottest and coldest temperatures in the country have occurred in this region. For the plains portion of the region, the wettest time of the year occurs in the late spring and early summer, while the driest season is winter. Winter is a crucial time for the region, however, as this is when the mountain snowpack builds. Year-to-year differences in the amount of the snowpack or the timing of the melting and subsequent runoff have implications for areas downstream across the plains.

Increased warming has also impacted the snow season, as higher temperatures have resulted in more rainfall rather than snowfall during the shoulder seasons. In the mountainous areas, changes in the snowpack and subsequent runoff have impacts on both the local and regional scales. Increased warming and earlier snowmelt is also causing earlier onset of spring and altering plant phenology (periodic biological responses, such as plant flowering). Looking to the future, we expect these trends to continue and their magnitude to increase.

The climate is not the only aspect of the Northern Great Plains that is changing. Major alterations to natural conditions have occurred in the region since the early 1800s, which have changed the water cycle and the way nutrients move through the land, water, and air. For instance, the water cycle has been greatly disrupted by the elimination of approximately 90 percent of the region’s beaver population. Removing beaver dams altered the water cycle process, reducing water stored in soil and increasing total runoff. Land use and management changes have also reduced water infiltration and increased runoff through soil degradation, via the loss of organic matter and soil structure. Much of the region’s grasslands have been converted to croplands, resulting in soil carbon loss.

Restoring balance, where appropriate, is critical to addressing challenges and changes attributed to climate. Below, you can learn more about these changes and their associated impacts, along with the ways in which the Northern Great Plains region is building resilience.