Buffalo Gap National Grassland#National Grasslands Visitor Center

{{short description|Protected area in southwestern South Dakota, United States}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox protected area

| name = Buffalo Gap National Grassland

| iucn_category =

| map = South Dakota#USA

| relief = 1

| photo = BuffaloGapNatlGrassland.jpg

| location = South Dakota, United States

| nearest_city = Hot Springs, SD

| coordinates = {{coord|43|29|57|N|102|53|21|W|region:US|display=inline, title}}

| area_acre = 595,715

| area_ref = {{cite web |title=Land Areas of the National Forest System |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |date=January 2013 |url=http://www.fs.fed.us/land/staff/lar/ |access-date=December 8, 2012}}

| established = June 23, 1960

| visitation_num =

| visitation_year =

| governing_body = U.S. Forest Service

| website = [http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/nebraska/recarea/?recid=30329 Buffalo Gap National Grassland]

}}

{{Black Hills and Badlands}}

Buffalo Gap National Grassland is a National Grassland located primarily in southwestern South Dakota, United States. It is also the second largest National Grassland, after Little Missouri National Grassland in North Dakota. Characteristics of the grasslands include mixed prairie and chalky badlands. The grassland is managed by the U.S. Forest Service and is a division of Nebraska National Forest. In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Fall River, Pennington, Jackson, and Custer counties.

Buffalo Gap National Grassland is managed by the Forest Service together with the Nebraska and Samuel R. McKelvie National Forests and the Fort Pierre and Oglala National Grasslands from common offices in Chadron, Nebraska. There are local ranger district offices located in Hot Springs and Wall.{{cite web |title=Nebraska National Forests and Grasslands |publisher=U.S. Forest Service |url=http://www.fs.usda.gov/nebraska |access-date=December 8, 2012}} It also surrounds Badlands National Park and Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.

In what is known as the Conata Basin region of the grassland, the most successful Black-footed ferret reintroduction program undertaken by the federal government, has established a small but sustainable population of these previously extirpated mammals.

In 2010, South Dakota Senator Tim Johnson introduced the Tony Dean Cheyenne River Valley Conservation Act of 2010, a bill that would designate over {{convert|48000|acre|ha}} of the National Grassland as protected wilderness. The act would allow the continuation of grazing and hunting on the land and would create the first national grassland wilderness in the country.{{cite web |title=Conservation Group Hails Introduction of Grassland Wilderness Bill |url=http://www.sdwildgrassland.org/view_news.asp?SD_NEWS_ID=27 |work=South Dakota Wild Grassland Coalition |access-date=11 September 2010 |date=May 5, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728010438/http://www.sdwildgrassland.org/view_news.asp?SD_NEWS_ID=27# |archive-date=2011-07-28 |url-status=dead }}{{cite news |last=Cook |first=Andrea J. |title=Neighbors disagree on grasslands wilderness |url=http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_10709db6-79b2-11df-95fe-001cc4c03286.html |access-date=11 September 2010 |newspaper=Rapid City Journal |date=June 16, 2010}}

In Jan. 2013, Charmaine White Face raised concerns about radiation exposure of South Dakota Army National Guard soldiers in the Buffalo Gap National Grassland.{{Cite web

| title = Charmaine White Face: Deadly dose of uranium for soldiers

| work = Indianz.Com

| access-date = 2013-03-27

| date = 2013-01-28

| url = http://www.indianz.com/News/2013/008311.asp

| url-status = dead

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130201051734/http://www.indianz.com/News/2013/008311.asp

| archive-date = 2013-02-01

}}

File:BuffaloGap lynn hetlett.jpg

File:Buffalo Gap National Grassland.jpg

File:Badlands along South Dakota Highway 44 in Buffalo Gap National Grassland, near Scenic Pass, 2009 (2).jpg