United States National Grassland

National Grasslands are authorized by Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act. For administrative purposes, they are essentially identical to U.S. 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.

All but three National Grasslands are on or at the edge of the Great Plains. Those three are in southeastern Idaho, northeastern California, and central Oregon. The three National Grasslands in North Dakota, together with one in northwestern South Dakota, are administered jointly as the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. National Grasslands are generally much smaller than National Forests. Whereas a typical National Forest would be about 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km²), a typical Grassland would only be about 100,000 acres (400 km²). The largest National Grassland, the Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota, covers 1,033,271 acres (4,181 km²), which is approximately the median size of a National Forest. As of 30 September 2007, the total area of all 20 National Grasslands was 3,843,037 acres (15,552 km²).

Dust Bowl

The catastrophic Dust Bowl of the 1930's led to the creation of the Soil Conservation Service in 1933. This and subsequent federal laws paved the way for establishing national grasslands.

List of National Grasslands

• Black Kettle National Grassland -- western Oklahoma on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Cibola National Forest
• Buffalo Gap National Grassland -- southwestern South Dakota on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Nebraska-McKelvie National Forests.
• Butte Valley National Grassland -- northern California, administered as part of Klamath National Forest.
• Caddo National Grassland -- north Texas in Fannin County, administered with the Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland
• Cedar River National Grassland -- southwestern North Dakota on the Great Plains, administered as part of Dakota Prairie Grasslands.
• Cimarron National Grassland -- southwestern Kansas on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests
• Comanche National Grassland -- southeastern Colorado on the Great Plains, administered with the Pike-San Isabel National Forests
• Crooked River National Grassland -- central Oregon in the Deschutes River valley, administered as part of Deschutes-Ochoco National Forests
• Curlew National Grassland -- southeastern Idaho in the Curlew Valley, administered with the Caribou-Targhee National Forest
• Grand River National Grassland -- western South Dakota on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands
• Fort Pierre National Grassland -- central South Dakota on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Nebraska-McKelvie National Forests
• Kiowa National Grassland -- northeastern New Mexico on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Cibola National Forest
• Little Missouri National Grassland -- western North Dakota, administered as part of Dakota Prairie Grasslands
• Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland -- north Texas on the Great Plains, administered with the Caddo National Grassland
• McClellan Creek National Grassland -- Texas Panhandle on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Cibola National Forest
• Oglala National Grassland -- northwestern Nebraska on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Nebraska-McKelvie National Forests
• Pawnee National Grassland -- northeastern Colorado on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forests
• Rita Blanca National Grassland -- northwestern Texas in the Texas Panhandle and western Oklahoma on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Cibola National Forest
• Sheyenne National Grassland -- southeastern North Dakota, administered as part of Dakota Prairie Grasslands.
• Thunder Basin National Grassland -- eastern Wyoming on the Great Plains, administered as part of the Routt-Medicine Bow National Forests

List of Prairie Reserves

• Midewin National Tallgrass Prairie -- northeastern Illinois.

See also

• Grassland
• Prairie
• Temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands
• List of U.S. National Forests