Grand Teton - Kelly Hayfields Habitat Restoration

KELLY HAYFIELDS HABITAT RESTORATION

RESTORING SAGEBRUSH

Grassland Wildlife Habitat

The restoration of 4,500 acres of former agricultural lands in the Mormon Row hayfields area is an important long-term conservation priority for Grand Teton. GTNPF has partnered with the park since 2013 to assist the vegetation team with the process of removing formerly cultivated and other nonnative plant species, efforts to collect native seeds and propagate them in large quantities, and restoring 50-100 acres per year of this important wildlife habitat type. Areas that have been replaced with native grasses and shrubs have already benefited bison, elk, pronghorn, sage-grouse, songbirds, and other native wildlife.

Grand Teton - Kelly Hayfields Habitat Restoration
The park’s vegetation management team takes inventory of native plants on a restoration site as part of the Kelly Hayfields project.

Park biologists have recently evaluated restoration techniques used on 1,450 acres and are taking the project in exciting new directions to increase the native forb (wildflower) and shrub components for more effective restoration and habitat effectiveness. To increase needed diversity in the seed mix, park staff will engage youth crews in 2022 for seed collection and for improving facilities for proper seed storage. The park will partner with American Conservation Experience to engage youth in restoration activities.

Posts About This Initiative

Native Species Return to Kelly Hayfields

Native sulphur buckwheat, seen above, is returning to the Kelly Hayfields through concerted efforts of park staff and partners. Photo: Todd Smith, Alpyn Beauty. Jackson Hole’s early homesteaders settled in the area now known as Mormon Row in Grand Teton ...
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