That no less a figure than Theodore Roosevelt himself kept returning to the national grasslands with its prairie, rolling hills, buttes and colorful canyons speaks volumes of the need to protect the last remaining natural prairie that once covered two-fifths of the United States.

North Dakota contains 63 National Wildlife Refuges, more than any other state. Many of these wildlife refuges were established to protect important waterfowl habitat and the central flyaway. The state also contains flat valleys and glacier-formed lakes.

The National Grasslands: The Wild Canvas of the American West
Lying along the western border with Montana, North Dakota's Little Missouri Grasslands is one of our Nation's most unique and historical landscapes. Surrounding Theodore Roosevelt National Park, the Grasslands are a place where the identity of the west was forged. A land where the buffalo once roamed, where the largest herds of big game in the world were found, where grizzly and wolves ruled the landscape, the Grasslands have been the canvas on which some of our nation's greatest adventures have been painted -- a landscape where the conservation ethics and the legends of some of our nation's greatest leaders have been forged.

The Little Missouri National Grasslands contains more than a million acres of prairie, rolling hills, buttes, colorful canyons and 200-year-old Rocky Mountain juniper in North Dakota's famed badlands. The grasslands are popular among campers, hunters, canoeists, horseback riders and others fond of outdoor recreation in a peaceful place with long vistas. Key areas include the Bennett-Cottonwood, Kinley Plateau, Long X Divide, Twin Butte spires and Bullion Butte. This region also features 200 miles of the Little Missouri River. The area also includes diverse wildlife including bighorn sheep, coyotes, elk, antelope, mule deer and golden eagles. Other than traditional recreational pursuits visitors and researchers also value the various geological rarities, Native American cultural and spiritual sites and the dinosaur, crocodile and bison skeletons to be found in the Maah Daah Hey Trail.

Rampant oil exploration, unchecked industrialization and urbanization, irresponsible, destructive motorized recreational activities and severe overgrazing by livestock are seriously affecting North America's most endangered ecosystem.

In the Heart of the West's History
Hundreds of years ago the Grasslands seemed eternal, with abundant buffalo herds, elk and other wildlife. This abundant landscape was home to American Indian tribes. In 1862 the Homestead Act opened the door for numerous settlers to migrate west, with many of them choosing the rich grasslands to call home. Cowboys and ranch families took hold in this wind-swept landscape.

One of the cowboys to make his way to the grasslands at this time was a young New Yorker - Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt arrived in the Grasslands of North Dakota seeking to recover and escape from the tragic deaths of his wife and mother. Roosevelt hunted wild game - antelope, buffalo, elk, deer and big horn sheep and went into business as an open range cattle rancher. It was here in the heart of the Grasslands that Roosevelt developed his conservation ethic and gained the strength and perspective to
run for President. Roosevelt claimed that were it not for his experience in the west and the Grasslands he would have never become President and it was through his experience that he came to be one of the fathers of the American conservation movement.

In addition to the settlers, cowboys and American Indians that colored the history of the region, the grasslands also inspired and energized many of our nation's first conservationists. Olaus Murie, one of the pioneering leaders of The Wilderness Society and a renowned naturalist and wildlife visited the Grasslands and said "Will the people of today, the people of tomorrow, continue to feel the pull of land that beckons to a sample of our country as it was, a country of space and beauty and a sense of freedom." Once, widely acknowledged as one of the most productive wildlife areas in the world, the grasslands have inspired and encouraged scientist and conservationist from around the world.

Paradise Lost?
In the time since the legends of the grasslands were born much of its wildness has been lost. Of the 1.1 million acres of The Little Missouri National Grasslands, a mere 234,000 acres remain roadless and qualify for wilderness. Despite this region's historic and natural significance, none on the wild Little Missouri National Grasslands have been permanently protected as wilderness. The Forest Service has failed to recommend a single area for permanent protection as wilderness in their new management plan and has only identified 41,520 acres as "suitable" for designation in the future.

Without permanent protection much of the area has remained vunerable to more development, road building and oil and gas drilling. Thousands of wells litter the landscape with mile after mile of roads and pipelines carving up the once wild landscape. To add insult to injury the Forest Service plan calls for the addition of more than 600 new wells in the next decade.

It is remarkable that an amazing number of wild and magnificent places still endure in these wondrous grasslands. It is now our responsibility to safeguard the last remaining wild grasslands for future generations. Many North Dakota citizens and conservationists are carrying forward this responsibility and have developed a proposal for permanently protecting all of the remaining wild acres of the Grasslands as Wilderness. North Dakota lawmakers and congressional leaders should honor this commitment and take legislative action to protect these remaining Grasslands.

The Best of the Grasslands
We still have a great opportunity to permanently protect some of the remaining wildlands for future generations.
Visit these sites to learn more: 
Dakota Prairies

Special places include:

• Long X Divide: Adjacent to the North Unit of Theodore Rooseveldt National Park, this is one of the largest and most spectacular wild badland areas - replete with mule deer and bighorn sheep plus high value riparian forests along the Little Missouri River.
  
  
• Bullion Butte: Rising high above and including the beautiful Little Missouri River, this majestic butte provides incredible vistas, abundant bighorn sheep, eagle and hawk populations and terrific hunting, hiking and horseback opportunities.
  
  
• Lone Butte: Wild, rugged and starkly scenic badlands include key habitat for sheep-tail grouse, bighorn sheep, eagles and falcons within and above the deeply carved Dry Creek Canyon - richly laden with junipers, ash and buffalo berry.
  
  
• Kinley Plateau: The dramatic red, blue and white clay buttes of the area, complemented by cottonwood lined stream bottoms and juniper coulees serve as prime habitat for trophy mule deer and the largest herd of bighorn sheep in North Dakota - all thriving in a truly expansive and spectacular landscape.
  
  
• Magpie: From gently rolling prairie to rough and rugged badlands, this area includes the full spectrum of grassland landscapes, plus a petrified forest and key habitat for deer, pronghorn antelopes and sharp-tailed grouse, providing solitude and serenity along the steep canyons of Magpie Creek.
  
  
• Bennett/Cottonwood: The wide and flat canyon of Bennett Creek contrasts with the adjacent narrower and ore primitive Cottonwood Canyon and both combine to provide key habitat for bighorn sheep, excellent hiking and horseback riding plus the opportunity to study historic and archaeological sites.
  
  
• Blacktail: Deeply carved and rugged badlands cut by isolated canyons offer juniper mixed grasses, hardwoods habitat for deer, birds and golden eagles and tremendously scenic wildland adventures.
  
  
• Twin Buttes: Sandstone hoodoos shaded in earth tones lace this harsh and splendidly captivating terrain - which is enhanced by diverse habitat for pronghorn antelope, deer and golden eagles - high, wide and wild enough in a true wilderness experience.
  
  
• Wannagan: Rugged badlands cutting across to the Petrified Forest Plateau of the adjacent South Unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park provide breathtaking vistas, important elk habitat and quality recreational opportunities.
  
  
• Bell Lake: This archeologically badland area is home to an array of wildlife including pronghorn antelope, mule deer, golden eagles and provides a natural scenic backdrop for the Elkhorn Ranch Unit and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
  
  
• Dawson's Waterfalls: The wide open spaces and rugged terrain of this area exemplify the essence of the Little Missouri National Grasslands as well as embracing key habitat for wild turkeys, deer, pronghorn and a lush abundance of wildflowers.
  
  
• Easy Hill: The rolling grasslands of this are complemented by sharply cut buttes at the headwaters of Sully Creek -- while valuable wildlife habitat, a wide variety of berry bushes and wild rose, all thrive alongside a campsite from the Custer expedition.
  
  
• Ponderosa Pine: The outstanding unique features of this area are the 200 year-old Ponderosa Pines, which tower above the banks of picturesque Sand Creek, and provide exceptional hiking, hunting and horseback riding.
  
  
• Scairt: Wide open rolling grasslands and enough badland formations provide high quality opportunities for solitude and recreational adventures, as pronghorn antelope, bobcats, mule deer and raptors dwell alongside a rare stand of black cottonwood trees.
  
  
• Storm - Hanson: Sheer cliffs plunge into the Little Missouri River providing nesting sites for golden eagles and rare prairie falcons, while the highlands include excellent habitat for wild turkey, sharptailed grouse and North Dakota's population of sage grouse among an abundance of fossil finds and dinosaur bones.
  
  
• Tracy Mountain: A land of contrasts from the top of the commanding butte to the vast pastoral plain in the east, with forested gullies and deep draws in between -- a vast array of vegetation and wildlife highlighted by an important herd of bighorn sheep.
  
  
• Horse Creek: This area features a rolling mixed- grass prairie cut by small woody draws comprising the only example of this type of landform that still qualifies as wilderness in the Little Missouri National Grasslands. Excellent hiking, horseback riding and hunting opportunities abound.
  
  
• Sheyenne Grasslands: This is the largest expanse of tallgrass prairie on public lands, and contains oak savannas, and wonderful recreation opportunities and special habitat for rare and threatened wildflowers and wildlife in five distinct proposed wilderness units.