MEDORA RANGER DISTRICT

District Ranger - Ron Jablonski
161 21st Street West
Dickinson, North Dakota  58601
(701) 225-5151

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The Medora Ranger District is located in southwestern North Dakota, with a District Office in Dickinson, ND.  The District encompasses the southern half of the Little Missouri National Grassland, including 524,685 acres of federal lands, intermingled with 723,354 acres of private and state land. Rolling hills accented by woody draws, and scenic buttes are characteristic of the District.  The Little Missouri River, which is a State Scenic River meanders through the badlands, carving and exposing colorful geologic layers.  The spectacular sunsets and sunrises provide a backdrop for the badlands, grasslands and fields of farmland that stretch across these northern prairies.

The area has a rich archeological, geological, and historical past.  It's not uncommon to find ancient aquatic fossils on the buttes in the area.  Ancient crocodile, bison and dinosaur skeletons have been found in the badlands.   Old homestead and Native American sites make for an abundance of archeological sites.  General Custer marched through the middle of the District on his way to the Little Big Horn.  The south unit of Theodore Roosevelt National Park headquartered in Medora, is nearly in the center of the District.  Roosevelt ran cattle in the badlands near Medora until the hard winter of 1888-89 killed most of the area's cattle. The town of Medora has become one of North Dakota's major tourist attractions.

Wildlife is abundant and includes mule and whitetail deer, antelope, elk, sage and sharptailed grouse, pheasants, Hungarian partridge, waterfowl, and wild turkeys.  Bighorn sheep have been transplanted in the area and are on the increase.  Prairie dog towns are numerous.  Several dams have been stocked with fish.  A rich variety of non-game prairie wildlife species is present, including such species as the golden eagle and prairie falcon.

Range management is one of the District's major activities.   It's one the largest range programs in the Forest Service with 253 allotments and three grazing associations.  The area is mostly mixed grass prairie, but there are areas of Ponderosa and Limber pine along with juniper, ash, elm and cottonwood draws.   Cattle are the primary livestock on the District.

Leasable mineral activity is another major activity on the District.  Currently the District has 30+ active oilfields with 322 producing wells on federal land. 

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