The Prairie Pothole Region (Region 10*) forms the core of what
was formerly the largest expanse of grassland in the world – the
Great Plains of North America. It encompasses some 700,000 km2,
stretching from the Peace Lowlands of northwestern Alberta and
northeastern BC, southeast to the Tall Grass Prairie of Iowa.
When the glaciers from the last ice age receded across this
landscape about 10,000 years ago, they left behind millions of
shallow depressions that are now wetlands known as prairie
potholes. Since that time, these pothole complexes, rich in
plant and aquatic invertebrate life, have supported populations
of breeding waterfowl unmatched anywhere in the world. In some
portions of the region, potholes occur in densities exceeding 70
ponds/km2, creating a wetland community that supports up to 50
breeding duck pairs/km2. Despite wetland drainage and conversion
of grasslands, the PPR remains the most important habitat for
breeding waterfowl in the world. The last 125 years have seen a
dramatic change in