grasslands

The idiom ‘be careful what you wish for’ is likely coming to roost for those of us who love to show off 193 million acres of national forests and grasslands.

To some people, hunting is a foreign concept. In the era of readily-packaged meats easily purchased at a nearby grocery store, the need—outside the sport of it—might seem outdated.

There are so many beautiful songs and poems written about autumn. And images! Amazing Fall Colors Flickr pictures and Forest Service YouTube videos of trees and flowers aglow with brilliant reds, yellows and oranges among the many iridescent shades of the color spectrum—see what I mean! Fall just brings out the poets in us.

The country’s annual celebration of its independence is not complete without family gatherings, picnics, parades, and the sights and sounds of fireworks.

National forests and grasslands—and indeed all of America’s public lands—draw visitors from all over the world. There is no other land management system quite like it.

Life on our national grasslands, some of the most distinct and treasured ecosystems in the world, depends on regrowth from buds, rather than seeds. Those endless expanses of grass exist because of plant buds, and at this time of year grasses have finished forming buds beneath the earth’s surface, where they will overwinter until spring.

Fall is here and it’s time to go wild! Or at least go to where nature’s brilliant hues of reds, yellows, and oranges are dotting our autumnal landscape: America’s national grasslands.

In fact, there are millions of square miles of these grasslands, and more than 16 million acres of them are managed by The Forest Service alone. While a lot of folks may not be aware of this, our 2017 theme of “Where the Wild Colors Are” is designed to let them know that fall is also beautiful in our National grasslands.

When a family packs up their car for a trip out to their national forests and grasslands, they create more than just memories. They create jobs.

Nearly three-quarters of Americans live within 100 miles of a national forest or grassland. Every year national forests and grasslands receive nearly 150 million visits, most of which, about 85 percent, are for recreational purposes.

For the second year, the U.S. Forest Service is part of the administration’s Every Kid in a Park program, an initiative to provide American fourth graders with a free pass to more than 2,000 federal land and water sites for them, their siblings and up to three adults.

The pass includes access to 153 national forests, 20 grasslands and one tall grass prairie managed for the public by the Forest Service and other lands and waters managed by six other federal agencies. Some state parks also honor the pass.

By keeping their grasslands intact, two Colorado ranches are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting vital wildlife habitat, all while earning additional revenue.

It may seem too good to be true, but it is thanks to a unique partnership spearheaded by the Climate Action Reserve, one of North America’s leading carbon offset project registries.

With the help of a Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) from USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the Climate Action Reserve listed Raven’s Nest and Heartland Ranch, both owned by the Southern Plains Land Trust (SPLT), as the first two grassland offset projects developed and executed under a new Grassland Project Protocol.