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OUR HISTORY
Today the Dakota Prairie Grasslands
present a scene of quiet beauty. They give little hint of human
misery or of parched earth churned into dust by burning winds. But
these lands have known strife, poverty, and dust; they are part
of the story of the Grasslands -- a story that is a lesson for the
future.
The story turns on a recent date,
June 20, 1960, when the Secretary of Agriculture designated 3,800,000
acres of Land Utilization Projects as the Grasslands, giving permanent
status to these public lands, and climaxing more than two decades
of rehabilitation and conservation.
Establishment of the Grasslands
opened the way to a hopeful, productive future. The Forest Service
now administers the Grasslands as a permanent part of the National
Forest System to promote stable grassland agriculture, a stronger
economy, and the wise use of many resources.
![Photograph of a prairie scene.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090510111622im_/http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/dakotaprairie/local-resources/images/scenery/tn_scenic05.jpg)
Two main factors led
to establishment of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands -- the way nature
made the land, and the way people used it. Nature decreed the geography
and climate in which grass dominates the pattern of life. This is
particularly true where Grasslands are located. Early settlers took
the land and used it in ways not always best for himself or the
land. Attempts to correct mistakes led to land use adjustments,
and these led to the Dakota Prairie Grasslands.
Geological forces made this a land
of grass. They raised the western plains to their present altitudes,
usually 2,500 feet or more above sea level. Mountain ranges were
thrust even higher. High mountains receive most of the rain and
snow, so that less than 20 inches of rain normally falls on the
western plains each year. Wind blows relentlessly -- harder and
longer than in any other part of the United States. Grass survives
well on these high, windy plains; other plants must struggle to
live.
Grass country's story includes some
dramatic chapters in our history. Within the relatively short span
of a hundred years the plains changed from a wild, native land to
a country of farms, ranches, railroads, and towns. That century
witnessed great explorations, the Oregon Trail, gold rushes, cattle
drives, the days of open range, Indian wars, homestead settlement,
and the closing of the American frontier. In short, those were the
days when this part of the country was called the Wild West.
The people of the 19th century and
what they did are part of the National Grasslands story. How they
used the land set the stage for later developments. The early cattlemen
used the land as it was, but without thought of management. Finally
the farmers came into grass country; they used the land and managed
it -- but in some areas for purposes for which the land was not
well suited.
In the Dakota Prairie Grasslands
areas, farmers began with trouble and kept it as
long as they tried to farm grass country.
Few could make a good living on 160 acres in the the high plains,
but 160 acres were all a man could homestead under the law. Most
new settlers eked out a bare subsistence on their little farms.
For the most part their land was poor and unsuited for intensive
cultivation, but the farmers' hopes were in cash crops, not grass.
By the early 1930's the farmers'
situation was critical. Depressed crop prices and drought ruined
marginal farms. Many people were supported by relief. Lands were
abandoned or became tax delinquent. Debts mounted and mortgages
were foreclosed.
There was less and less grass in
grass country. Continual cultivation, recurrent dry years, excessive
grazing, and relentless wind changed sod to dust. Farmlands were
blowing away. Lands still in sod were severely damaged by dust blown
from neighboring lands.
The hardships of those years are
hard to imagine today, and overburdened the resources of communities,
counties, and States. Many people left the land. Others were stranded
by poverty, debt, and lack of opportunity.
In 1934 a Federal land purchase
program, adequate farm credit, and other measures brought much-needed
relief. U.S. Department of Agriculture specialists worked with State
agricultural colleges and State and county officials to determine
the major problem areas. In these areas the Resettlement Administration
purchased thousands of uneconomic farms, retired them from intensive
cultivation, and helped farm families find new opportunity in other
areas.
The land purchase program brought
about a basic change in land use. Men began to manage their lands
in ways better suited to these dry, windy plains. Farms and ranches
that remained were generally larger and better able to operate economically.
The areas purchased were slowly rehabilitated and became summer
pastures. Sheep and cattle now became the chief agricultural product
in grass country.
![Photograph of a prairie scene with rocks and grasses.](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090510111622im_/http://www.fs.fed.us/r1/dakotaprairie/local-resources/images/scenery/tn_badlands1.jpg)
Land Utilization Projects, as these
areas were called, helped to bring grassland agriculture to the
western plains. Grass resumed its rightful place as the dominant
resource. Under leadership of the Soil Conservation Service, grazing
associations and Soil Conservation Districts were organized. They
leased the new public ranges under controls guaranteeing range improvement
and conservation. Land Utilization Project managers led the way
in demonstrating conservation techniques and practices. Project
managers, ranchers, and grazing associations worked together to
improve the range in every respect. The work went forward and still
goes forward, moving to the ultimate goal of a fully restored range.
Now, the Land Utilization Projects
on the plains have become the Dakota Prairie Grasslands, and a part
of the National Forest System. They are important units of a permanent
system dedicated to principles of land conservation and use.
From a high vantage point in the
Dakota Prairie Grasslands, you will see at a glance all these elements
of conservation and proper land use. In that panorama of sky and
grass are the fences, the ponds or wells, and cattle or sheep grazing
nearby. You might glimpse antelope disappearing into the distance,
or be startled as a blur of feathers -- a grouse or a pheasant --
erupts from the grass before you. Down on a pond the ducks, plover,
curlew, and the song of frogs tell how wildlife prospers.
Far away in another direction you
see a cluster of buildings and trees; it is one of the ranches located
within the Dakota Prairie Grassland. The rancher owns a spread and
rounds out his operations using the public range, for which he holds
a permit and pays a fee.
He belongs to a grazing association,
through which he cooperates for the improvement and best use of
all of the range, whether State, Federal, or privately owned. The
association helps the rancher to coordinate his own range management
with that of the adjacent lands. He and his neighboring ranchers,
through their association, bear a percentage of the cost of many
range improvements, for they know the value of good grass in grass
country.
Beyond the ranch a road leads to
town, and the town also is part of the Dakota Prairie Grasslands
portrait. Local business depends heavily on stable ranch operations
in or near the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. Outdoor recreation opportunities
on the public land enrich the lives of the people. Part of the Dakota
Prairie Grassland's grazing fees and other receipts are paid to
the county for support of its schools and maintenance of its roads.
The Dakota Prairie Grasslands will
continue to yield their many resources -- grass, water, outdoor
recreation, and wildlife, but only under wise use. In this land
of grass, all these resources are linked together in the blend that
is multiple use and today's abundance must remain for generations
of the future.
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