Grasslands

Grasslands are one of South Dakota's greatest natural resources. Grasslands are a community of plants and animals where grasses are the predominant vegetation. Grasslands in South Dakota receive between 10 and 30 inches of rain per year.

Grasses and other plants found here are the base of a food chain that supports hundreds of species of wildlife as well as livestock. Grasses make their own food and energy. Grasslands are a renewable resource, when they are managed properly.

South Dakota is mostly mixed grass prairie and tall grass prairie. Deposits left behind by the glacier that created the Missouri River and high annual rainfall formed the basis for the tall-grass prairie.

In 1997, there were 1,245,700 acres of tall-grass prairie left in SD. In central and western SD, poorer soils and less rainfall resulted in the development of mixed-grass prairie. In 1997, there were 20,630,700 acres of the mixed grass prairie remaining.in SD. (Source: National Resource Inventory, 1997)

South Dakota's grasslands are used for many things, including watershed management, recreation, wildlife habitat, and hay production. The most common use is grazing by livestock.

One third of the nation's private land, 642 million acres of grassland, is grazed by livestock. The remaining grasslands are owned by state or federal agencies, including National Grasslands, National Parks, and Wildlife Refuges.