Sheyenne National Grassland is a

National Grassland A national grassland is an area of protected area, 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 administrati ...

located in southeastern

North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...

in the United States, comprising of public land amid of privately owned land in a region of sandy soils in the vicinity of the

Sheyenne River The Sheyenne River is one of the major tributaries of the Red River of the North, meandering U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 8, 2011 across eastern North Dakota, Uni ...

Ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

and Richland Counties. It is the only National Grassland in the

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and Historical ecology#Anthropogenic fire, anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to th ...

region of the U.S. The grassland provides habitat for the largest population of

greater prairie chicken The greater prairie-chicken or pinnated grouse (''Tympanuchus cupido''), sometimes called a boomer,Friederici, Peter (July 20, 1989)"The Last Prairie Chickens" ''Chicago Reader''. Retrieved August 27, 2014.（Chinese 中文：帕艺明彩大凤� ...

s in North Dakota, as well as the

Dakota skipper ''Hesperia dacotae'', the Dakota skipper, is a small to medium-sized North American butterfly. It has a wingspan of approximately one inch and the antennae form a hook. The male's wings are a tawny-orange to brown on the forewings with a prominen ...

butterfly, the western prairie fringed orchid, and numerous

fern The ferns (Polypodiopsida or Polypodiophyta) are a group of vascular plants (plants with xylem and phloem) that reproduce via spores and have neither seeds nor flowers. They differ from mosses by being vascular, i.e., having specialized tissue ...

s, as well as grazing land for approximately 83 cattle ranchers. A segment of the

North Country National Scenic Trail The North Country Trail (NCT, officially designated the North Country National Scenic Trail) is a long-distance hiking trail in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern and Northeastern United States, Northeastern United States. The trail exten ...

crosses the Grassland from east to west and is open to hiking, horseback riding, and mountain biking. Find a map and trail information at https://northcountrytrail.org/dpc/. The grassland lies in eastern

and western Richland counties, about east of the city of

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

. The grassland is administered by the Forest Service as part of the

Dakota Prairie Grasslands The Dakota Prairie Grasslands (DPG) are a collection of grasslands in North Dakota and South Dakota, United States. It was formed in 1998 and consists of four U.S. Forest Service Ranger District offices that manage four National Grasslands: * Nor ...

from offices in

Bismarck, North Dakota Bismarck (; from 1872 to 1873: Edwinton) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Dakota and the county seat, seat of Burleigh County, North Dakota, Burleigh County. It is the state's List of cities i ...

. There are local ranger district offices in Lisbon.

References

External links

Dakota Prairie Grassland: Special places
-U.S. Forest Service
Map
showing dispersed camping areas and motor vehicle accessibility National grasslands of the United States Protected areas of Ransom County, North Dakota Protected areas of Richland County, North Dakota Grasslands of North Dakota Sheyenne River {{NorthDakota-protected-area-stub