Central ND News

Senator John Hoeven met with U.S. Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, grazing groups, and energy producers in Dickinson, North Dakota, to discuss the management of national grasslands. The meeting focused on ensuring access to U.S. Forest Service (USFS) lands for multiple uses such as grazing and energy production.

Hoeven emphasized the importance of section line rights-of-way for ranchers accessing cattle in the Little Missouri National Grasslands. He also pointed out that the Dakota Prairie Grasslands are located above one of the largest oil-producing fields in the United States, making regulatory certainty for oil wells and related infrastructure a priority for supporting U.S. energy goals.

During the meeting, Schultz agreed to collaborate with North Dakota Agriculture Commissioner Doug Goehring, counties, local grazing associations, and the North Dakota Petroleum Council on updating the Little Missouri National Grassland Travel Management Plan.

Hoeven addressed land management concerns by highlighting past efforts with USFS Deputy Chief Chris French to control noxious weeds on the Dakota Prairie Grasslands. So far, $3 million has been allocated to local grazing groups for weed spraying initiatives.

The senator has included provisions in the Fiscal Year 2026 Senate Interior appropriations bill urging USFS to revise its 2018 Prairie Dog Management Plan. The aim is to limit prairie dog habitats to no more than 1.5% of federal land within each grazing allotment.

Efforts also continue on reclaiming orphaned oil wells for new uses like freshwater wells for livestock, drought relief, and fire suppression. Hoeven helped secure funding to cap and reclaim these wells; following his work, USFS started approving conversions of oil wells into freshwater sources useful for regional cattle operations.

“The Forest Service manages more than one million acres of grasslands in North Dakota. The presence of these federal lands has a real impact on communities and local industries, including our livestock and energy producers,” said Hoeven. “That’s why we worked to bring USFS Chief Schultz to North Dakota to hear directly from our ranchers, oil and gas producers and local officials. We appreciate him taking the time and working with us to address critical issues on the national grasslands. This includes improving access under the updated Travel Management Plan, better managing weeds and prairie dogs and continuing the partnership with the state for reclaiming oil wells as freshwater wells, which will benefit a range of needs in the region, including for cattle producers.”