Wooded Draws in Rangelands of the Northern Great Plains

Wooded draws and natural prairie woodlands occupy about 1.1 percent of the northern Great Plains. While the extent of wooded draws is extremely limited, their importance and value is much greater. These unique communities are important for wildlife and livestock habitats, soil stabilization, watershed maintenance, firewood, esthetics, and species diversity (Fig. 1). An estimate of their value has been placed at $10 million annually, primarily production of fuelwood, and wildlife habitat and hunting. However, the dominant use is cattle grazing which requires management to control overuse. Description and classification of woody draws is incomplete. However, recognition of habitat type is sufficient to group into categories used by the Soil Conservation Service as run-in sites, runoff sites, and normal sites. Wooded draws are further grouped as shrubby draws and hardwood draws. The latter grouping is also used by the USDA Forest Service in preparation of Forest Inventory of Plains woodlands. Shrubby draws in this case are "nonforest with trees,” the more productive wooded lands are described as “forest land.” This section briefly describes the woody-draws and suggested management for their maintenance and/or regeneration.