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.
Entrance sign of a United States National Grassland area in South Dakota
Image: Black Kettle National Grassland
Image: Buffalogap Charon
Image: Butte Valley twotrees
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands covering 193 million acres (780,000 km2) of land. The major divisions of the agency are the Chief's Office, National Forest System, State and Private Forestry, Business Operations, as well as Research and Development. The agency manages about 25% of federal lands and is the sole major national land management agency not part of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
The Forest Products Laboratory, in Madison, Wisconsin.
A horse patrol of the Law Enforcement & Investigations unit
Forest Service team uses a 106 mm recoilless rifle for avalanche control at Mammoth Mountain in the Inyo National Forest in California. Note the Minarets in background.
The U.S. Forest Service R&D lab in Olympia, Washington
