Fort Larned NHS Biological Inventory for Vertebrates

Fort Larned was established as a military outpost in 1859, primarily to protect U.S. mail and commercial freight traffic along the Santa Fe Trail. The site is comprised of developed areas, grassland, and the Pawnee River lined by a wooded riparian corridor. A detached 44-acre parcel, containing Santa Fe Trail wagon ruts, consists of native mixed-grass prairie. The purpose of this project was to inventory vertebrate groups for which data were lacking or incomplete. Birds and fish were the primary focus of the surveys, because no previous inventories had been conducted for these groups. Mammal and herpetological surveys had been conducted previously, but species documentation had not reached the target of 90%; therefore, a secondary focus was to document additional mammal and herp species.