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Following east of the Rocky Mountains, from the badlands of North Dakota to north-central Texas, spilling into the Great Plains, are 17 National Grasslands. West of the Rockies, in the Great Basin states of Oregon, California and Idaho, are three more National Grassland expanses. These wind swept seas of grass and wildflowers have witnessed the pageant of the frontier, the Dust Bowl and reclamation of 20 publicly owned National Grasslands totaling almost four million acres administered by the USDA Forest Service.

The grass seemed eternal, teeming with abundant buffalo herds, elk and other wildlife. It was also home to many tribes including: Sitting Bull's Hunkpapa Sioux, Apache, Arapaho, Anikara, Assiniboine, Atsina, Bannock, Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Chippewa, Ojibwa, Bungi, Comanche, Cree, Crow, Hidsata, Kiowa, Kiamath, Kootnei, Mandan, Metis, Modoc, Pawnee, Santee, Shasta, Shoshone, Teton, Wichita, Yankton and Yanktonia. The United States acquired most of the Great Plains and Great Basin from France with the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. Until the late 1860s the reat Plains region was perhaps America's last frontier.

The Homestead Act of 1862 brought almost six million settlers by 1890 who tried to replace grass with crops more beneficial to economic aspirations. The settlers soon discovered, however, that while these vast grasslands were productive in wet years, they were also subject to serious drought and bitter winters. Land that should never have been plowed yielded its topsoil to incessant dry winds. Above parts of Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado and the Dakotas, dust clouds rose to over 20,000 feet. Ten-foot drifts of fine soil particles piled up like snow in a blizzard, burying fences and closing roads.

During the same time, bison were largely eliminated by westward expansion. Ranchers filled the large open ranges of the plains and the Great Basin with cattle and sheep. Soldiers, prospectors, railroad builders and a host of others seeking the west helped push back the last frontier as they crossed and settled these lands.

By the early 1930s, the broad midsection of America was in trouble. Not only because of the Dust Bowls, but the Great Depression was reaching its economic depths. Emergency measures were taken to save the farmers and settlers. The National Industrial Recovery Act of 1933 and the Emergency Relief Appropriations Act of 1935 allowed the federal government to purchase and restore damaged lands and to resettle destitute families.

From these disastrous days, a hundred years after the Homestead Act on June 23, 1960, the National Grasslands were born. Grass is the key to maintaining the productivity of these areas. Remove it, and the soil blows away. When rain falls, the barren ground can't absorb water and it runs off quickly carrying silt into streams and ponds. These grasslands must be used wisely for the benefit of the land and its inhabitants.

Our nation's 20 National Grasslands are an outstanding conservation success story. They are examples of progressive agriculture in arid grass country. Revegetated to provide for soil and water conservation, these intermingled public and private lands are managed to complement each other and to conserve the natural resources of grass, water and wildlife habitat.

Clean water flows off restored watersheds to be used miles downstream. Wildlife, including many declining, threatened or endangered species, thrives in reborn habitats. And, under a nurturing shield of vegetation, once wounded soil rebuilds its fertility. Water developments have provided additional wetland resources to benefit livestock operations, wildlife and recreation.

Private farmlands within the National Grassland boundaries add diversity to the prairie habitat. The presence of prairie dog colonies creates habitat favorable for such wildlife as burrowing owls, which use the abandoned burrows. The rare black-footed ferret preys on the prairie dogs and use their burrows, as well. Rattlesnakes are the only poisonous snakes found in the grassland; they are seldom seen during the heat of the day.

National Grasslands are rich in mineral, oil and gas resources. They also provide diverse recreational uses, such as mountain biking, hiking, hunting, fishing, photography, birding and sightseeing. Fossils, prehistoric and historic resources, as well as many cultural sites are being discovered. The National Grasslands are being managed to protect these important legacy resources.

The National Grasslands are important lands managed for sustainable multiple uses as part of the National Forest System. They have made important contributions to conserving grassland ecosystems while producing a variety of goods and services which, in turn, have helped to maintain rural economies and lifestyles.

[Image: "As I looked about me it felt that the grass was the country, as the water is the sea. ... And, there was so much motion in it; the whole country seemed, somehow to be running." Willa Cather, My Antonia]

September 1999
Intriguing Facts about the National Grasslands

o The Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota is the biggest, with 1,028,051 acres and home to the 100-mile Maah Daah Hey multiple-use trail.

o Offering the same activities, just below in South Dakota, is the Grand River National Grassland. During the autumn hunting season, deer, antelope, grouse and water fowl are favorite game.

o The Sheyenne National Grassland is one of the few remnants of tall grass prairie remaining in public ownership.

o Located in southwest South Dakota, the Buffalo Gap National Grassland was inhabited millions of years ago by a collection of both marine and terrestrial wildlife which are evidenced today only by their fossilized remains.

o The Ft. Pierre National Grassland in South Dakota gets the most rainfall of all the grasslands-18 inches per year on average.

o The largest coal producing mine in the world is on the Thunder Basin National Grassland in Wyoming.

o The Oglala National Grassland, encompassing 94,400 acres of land in the Nebraska panhandle, has a diverse landscape including badlands and toadstool formations.

o The Comanche National Grassland has approximately 275 different species of birds and one of the longest dinosaur track-ways in the world.

o Part of the route of the Santa Fe Historic Trail runs through the Cimarron National Grassland and is the only land administered by the USDA Forest Service in the state of Kansas.

o The smallest National Grassland is McClellan Creek in Texas with 1,449 acres.

o The Black Kettle National Grassland is just across the border in Oklahoma, offering five lakes and 670 acres of warm water fishing.

o The Caddo National Grassland in Texas, as well as the LBJ National Grassland, provide forage for cattle on 3,050 acres of improved pasture and 19,600 acres of native pasture.

o The Caddo and southwestern portion of LBJ National Grasslands in Texas are within a four-hour drive of four million people.

o Wildlife on the Rita Blanca National Grassland, which
includes 77,463 acres in Texas and 15,860 acres in Oklahoma, varies as much as does the climate over the wide expanse of country.

o The Curlew National Grassland near Malad, Idaho, is known for its upland game birds.

o The Kiowa National Grassland includes part of the Canadian River canyon west of Mills, New Mexico, a rugged 900-foot-deep canyon forms a wildlife habitat island in the prairie for mule deer, bear, Barbary sheep, ducks and geese, and provides warm water fishing.

The Crooked River National Grassland near Madras, Oregon, is characterized by bunchgrass, sagebrush and western juniper plant associations. The Crooked River National Grassland is the home of the National Champion (largest) Big Sagehrush
o The 18,756-acre Butte Valley National Grassland in northern California near the Oregon border, is a part of a study about the declining Swainson's Hawks in California.

o The Pawnee Buttes in the Pawnee National Grassland in Colorado is a unique landmark made up of sedimentary rock formations, one-half mile apart rising 350 feet
above the plains to an elevation of 5,375 feet.

Open seven days a week
Memorial Day to Labor Day 7:00 am - 8:00 pm
Off season 8:00 am - 4:30 pm
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, gender, religion, age, disability, political beliefs, sexual orientation, and marital or family status. (Not all prohibited basis apply to all programs.) Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communication of program information (Braille, large print, audio tape, and so forth) should contact the USDA's Target Center at 202-720-2600 (voice and TDD).

To file a complaint of discrimination, write USDA,
Director, Office of Civil Rights, Room 326-W, Whitten
Building, 14th and Independence Ave. SW, Washington
DC 20250-94 10 or call 202-720-5964 (voice or TDD).
Wyoming

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