Wildlife

Mooz (Moose)

USFWS photo

Grand Portage National Monument preserves an 8.5 mile portage route around Pigeon river rapids and waterfalls. The portage traverses a wild and diverse landscape, changing with every 100 feet of elevation above the lake, and every mile away from its influence. This extreme change in climate and landscape driven habitats creates important niches for wildlife. The deep insulating blanket of evergreen tree species, shady sawtooth mountain topography, and frigid lake breezes combine to create important thermal refuges. Boreal species like moose begin to overheat and even pant when summer and winter air temperatures exceed 57° and 23° Fahrenheit respectively.

 

• 

  Jeepers Peepers

  Amphibians & Reptiles

  The southern boreal winters are a hostile place for amphibians and reptiles.

• 

  Forest Symphony

  Birds (Bineshiinyag)

  Early spring mornings until the 4th of July, the southern boreal forest is filled with the songs of birds.

• 

  Cold swimmers

  Fish (Giigoonyag)

  Coaster Brook Trout is a species that lives in Lake Superior, spawns in north shore streams, and thrives in the local cold water.

• 

  Forest Architects

  Animals (Awesiinyag)

  The boreal forest is an ideal habitat for North America’s two largest rodents.

 

×

Species Attribute Definitions

Definitions

Occurrence

Occurrence values are defined below. One or more Occurrence Tags may be associated with each Occurrence value.

Present: Species occurs in park; current, reliable evidence available.

Probably Present: High confidence species occurs in park but current, verified evidence needed.

Unconfirmed: Species is attributed to park but evidence is weak or absent.

Not In Park: Species is not known to occur in park.

---

Occurrence Tags

Adjacent: Species is known to occur in areas near to or contiguous with park boundaries.

False Report: Species was reported to occur within the park, but current evidence indicates the report was based on misidentification, a taxonomic concept no longer accepted, or other similar problem of error or interpretation.

Historical: Species' historical occurrence in park is documented. Assigned based on judgment as opposed to determination based on age of the most recent evidence.

---

Abundance

Abundant:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, and counted in relatively large numbers.
• Plants: Large number of individuals; wide ecological amplitude or occurring in habitats covering a large portion of the park.

Common:

• Animals: May be seen daily, in suitable habitat and season, but not in large numbers.
• Plants: Large numbers of individuals predictably occurring in commonly encountered habitats but not those covering a large portion of the park.

Uncommon:

• Animals: Likely to be seen monthly in appropriate habitat and season. May be locally common.
• Plants: Few to moderate numbers of individuals; occurring either sporadically in commonly encountered habitats or in uncommon habitats.

Rare:

• Animals: Present, but usually seen only a few times each year.
• Plants: Few individuals, usually restricted to small areas of rare habitat.

Occasional:

• Animals: Occurs in the park at least once every few years, varying in numbers, but not necessarily every year.
• Plants: Abundance variable from year to year (e.g., desert plants).

Unknown: Abundance unknown

---

Nativeness

Native: Species naturally occurs in park or region.

Non-native: Species occurs on park lands as a result of deliberate or accidental human activities.

Unknown: Nativeness status is unknown or ambiguous.

×

List Differences

The Checklist contains only those species that are designated as "present" or "probably present" in the park.

The Full List includes all the checklist species in addition to species that are unconfirmed, historically detected, or incorrectly reported as being found in the park. The full list also contains species that are "in review" because their status in the park hasn't been fully determined. Additional details about the status of each species is included in the full list.

The checklist will almost always contain fewer species than the full list.

Select a Park:

Grand Portage National Monument

Select a Species Category (optional):

All Amphibians Birds Fish Mammals Reptiles Vascular Plants

Get Checklist Get Full List List Differences

Species attribute definitions

Search results will be displayed here.

Visit NPSpecies for more comprehensive information and advanced search capability. Have a suggestion or comment on this list? Let us know.