A national grassland is an area of protected and managed federal lands in the United States authorized by Title III of the Bankhead–Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937 and managed by the United States Forest Service . For administrative purposes, they are essentially identical to national forests , except that grasslands are areas primarily consisting of prairie . Like national forests, national grasslands may be open for hunting, grazing, mineral extraction, recreation and other uses. Various national grasslands are typically administered in conjunction with nearby national forests.
7-462: Little Missouri National Grassland is a National Grassland located in western North Dakota , United States. At 1,028,051 acres (416,037 ha), it is the largest grassland in the country. Enclaved within its borders is Theodore Roosevelt National Park with an additional 70,446 acres (28,508 ha), which is managed by the National Park Service . The Little Missouri National Grassland
14-544: A national forest. As of September 30, 2007, the total area of all 20 national grasslands was 3,838,280 acres (1,553,300 ha). The catastrophic Dust Bowl of the 1930s led to the creation of the Soil Conservation Service in 1933. This and subsequent federal laws paved the way for establishing national grasslands. The smaller Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie , created much later and east of
21-647: A protected area in North Dakota is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . National Grassland All but four national grasslands are on or at the edge of the Great Plains . Those four are in southeastern Idaho , northeastern California , central Oregon , and a reserve in Illinois . The three national grasslands in North Dakota , together with one in northwestern South Dakota, are administered jointly as
28-684: Is administered by the Forest Service as part of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands from offices in Bismarck, North Dakota . There are local ranger district offices in Dickinson and Watford City . Oil and gas exploration, extraction, and distribution in the region has the potential for long term negative impacts on the soil, water, vegetation, and wildlife of the grassland, including threatened and endangered species. This article related to
35-494: The Dakota Prairie Grasslands . National grasslands are generally much smaller than national forests – while a typical national forest would be about 1,000,000 acres (400,000 ha), the average size of a national grassland is 191,914 acres (77,665 ha). The largest, the Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota, covers 1,028,784 acres (416,334 ha), which is approximately the median size of
42-443: The grassland and White Butte , North Dakota's highest point, is located in the extreme southeast corner, south of the town of Amidon . In descending order of land area, it is located in parts of McKenzie , Billings , Slope , and Golden Valley counties. Within the boundaries of the national grassland are significant portions of state-owned and privately owned land, much of it leased by cattle ranchers for grazing. The grassland
49-477: Was once a part of the Custer National Forest, but is now a part of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands , a National Forest unit consisting entirely of National Grasslands . A predominant feature of the grassland is colorful and beautiful badlands , a rugged terrain extensively eroded by wind and water. It is a mixed-grass prairie with both long and short grass. The Little Missouri River meanders through
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