Editing Great Plains (section)

===Public and protected lands===
[[File:Scotts Bluff National Monument - Nebraska (14417716146).jpg|thumb|[[Scotts Bluff National Monument]], [[Nebraska]]]]
Public and protected lands in the Great Plains include National Parks and National Monuments, administers by the [[National Park Service]] with the responsibility of preserving ecological and historical places and making them available to the public.<ref name="National Park Service">National Park Service: [https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm About Us] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418180900/https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm |date=April 18, 2022 }} (referenced April 9, 2022)</ref> The [[United States Fish and Wildlife Service|U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]] manages the National Wildlife Refuges, with the primary responsibility of conserving and protecting fish, wildlife, plants, and habitat in the public trust.<ref name="US Fish & Wildlife">United States Fish and Wildlife Service: https://www.fws.gov/ {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407232842/https://www.fws.gov/ |date=April 7, 2022 }} (referenced April 9, 2022)</ref> Both are agencies of the [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]].

In contrast, [[United States Forest Service|U.S. Forest Service]], an agency of the [[United States Department of Agriculture|U. S. Department of Agriculture]], administers the National Forests and National Grasslands, under a multiple-use concept. By law, the U.S. Forest Service must consider all resources, with no single resource emphasized to the detriment of others, including water, soil, grazing, timber harvesting, and minerals (mining and drilling), as well as recreation and conservation of fish and wildlife.<ref name="US Forest Service">United States Forest Service: [https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land Managing the Land] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201015171116/https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land |date=October 15, 2020 }} (referenced April 9, 2022)</ref> Each individual state also administers state lands, typically smaller areas, for various purposes including conservation and recreation.

Grasslands are among the least protected biomes.<ref>{{cite report |title=Threats Assessment for the Northern Great Plains Ecoregion |url=http://www.npcn.net/images/uploads/Threats_Assessment_NGP_Report_Dec2012.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131206104731/http://www.npcn.net/images/uploads/Threats_Assessment_NGP_Report_Dec2012.pdf |archive-date=December 6, 2013 |date=December 20, 2012 |last1=Schrag |first1=A.M. |last2=Olimb |first2=S. |publisher=World Wildlife Fund-U.S |location=Bozeman, MT}}</ref> Humans have converted much of the prairies for agricultural purposes or to create pastures. Several of the protected lands in the region are centered around aberrant and uncharacteristic features of the region, such as mountains, outcrops, and canyons (e.g. [[Devils Tower|Devil's Tower National Monument]], [[Wind Cave National Park]], [[Scotts Bluff National Monument]]), and as splendid and worthy as they are, they are not primarily focused on conserving the plains and prairies.

United States:
*Colorado: 
**[[Comanche National Grassland]] ({{cvt|443,081|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Pawnee National Grassland]] ({{cvt|193,060|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Iowa: 
**[[DeSoto National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|8,362|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Kansas: 
**[[Cheyenne Bottoms|Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area]] ({{cvt|41,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Cimarron National Grassland]] ({{cvt|108,176|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|18,463|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Kirwin National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|10,778|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Marais des Cygnes National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|7,500|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve]] ({{cvt|10,882|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Quivira National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|22,135|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Minnesota: 
**[[Agassiz National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|61,500|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|11,586|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Blue Mounds State Park]] ({{cvt|1,567|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Glacial Lakes State Park]] ({{cvt|2,423|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Missouri: 
**[[Loess Bluffs National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|7,350|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Montana: 
**[[Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|915,814|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Makoshika State Park]] ({{cvt|11,538|acre|disp=sqbr}}) 
**[[Medicine Lake National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|31,533|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Rosebud Battlefield State Park]] ({{cvt|3,052|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[UL Bend National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|56,048|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Upper Missouri River Breaks National Monument]] ({{cvt|377,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Nebraska: 
**[[Boyer Chute National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|4,040|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Crescent Lake National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|45,818|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Fort Niobrara National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|19,131|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[John and Louise Seier National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|2,400|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[North Platte National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|5,047|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Rainwater Basin|Rainwater Basin Wetland Management District]] ({{cvt|22,864|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Scotts Bluff National Monument]] ({{cvt|3,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Valentine National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|71,516|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*New Mexico: 
**[[Grulla National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|3,236|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Kiowa National Grassland]] ({{cvt|137,131|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*North Dakota: 
**[[Arrowwood National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|15,934|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Audubon National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|14,739|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Little Missouri State Park]] ({{cvt|6,492|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Sheyenne National Grassland]] ({{cvt|70,180|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Theodore Roosevelt National Park]] ({{cvt|70,446|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Oklahoma: 
**[[Black Kettle National Grassland]] ({{cvt|31,286|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|32,080|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|59,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*South Dakota: 
**[[Badlands National Park]] ({{cvt|242,756|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Black Hills National Forest]] ({{cvt|1,253,308|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Custer State Park]] ({{cvt|71,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Fort Pierre National Grassland]] ({{cvt|115,890|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Grand River National Grassland]] ({{cvt|154,783|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Wind Cave National Park]] ({{cvt|33,847|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Texas: 
**[[Buffalo Lake National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|7,664|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Caddo National Grassland]] ({{cvt|17,873|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Caprock Canyons State Park and Trailway|Caprock Canyons State Park]] ({{cvt|15,313|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|11,320|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Lyndon B. Johnson National Grassland]] ({{cvt|20,309|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge]] ({{cvt|6,440|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Palo Duro Canyon|Palo Duro Canyon State Park]] ({{cvt|26,200|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Rita Blanca National Grassland]] ({{cvt|230,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Wyoming: 
**[[Curt Gowdy State Park]] ({{cvt|3,395|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Devils Tower|Devil's Tower National Monument]] ({{cvt|1,346|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Glendo State Park]] (ca. {{cvt|10,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Thunder Basin National Grassland]] ({{cvt|547,499|acre|disp=sqbr}})

Canada:
*Alberta: 
**[[Elk Island National Park]] ({{cvt|48,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Suffield National Wildlife Area]] ({{cvt|113,263|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Manitoba: 
**[[Riding Mountain National Park]] ({{cvt|733,400|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Turtle Mountain Provincial Park]] ({{cvt|46,080|acre|disp=sqbr}})
*Saskatchewan: 
**[[Grasslands National Park]] ({{cvt|224,000|acre|disp=sqbr}})
**[[Last Mountain Lake National Wildlife Area]] ({{cvt|38,553|acre|disp=sqbr}})