Half of Americans Have Little to No Knowledge of Grasslands, the Country’s Largest Natural Habitat

Submitted by Donna Joy Vickers, Class of 2023

https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/half-of-americans-no-grasslands-knowledge/?en_txn1=s_lio.reg_gp.x.x

Donna’s Summary:

I would just say that my learning from this article was that I was like the 47% of Americans that say they have little or no knowledge of grasslands before becoming a Texas Master Naturalist. I had heard/understood that America’s grasslands are described as one of the country’s largest, most important, and most threatened natural habitats. In this article, The Nature Conservancy partnered with GlobeScan to do a survey in April 2026 with over 2,000 people responding.  They concluded that public awareness is low but also shows a hopeful pattern: “when people learn more about grasslands, they value them more”.

U.S. grasslands, including savannas and shrublands, cover nearly 1 million square miles, but only about half of historic grasslands remain. Their loss affects wildlife, rural economies, food systems, water quality, carbon storage, and climate resilience. The Nature Conservancy and partner organizations are using these findings to support a broader U.S. Grasslands Campaign through the America’s Grasslands Coalition. The goal is to raise national awareness and make grasslands a stronger conservation priority.

Why this matters for the work we are doing as Master Naturalist (ME):  People cannot protect what they cannot identify, locate, understand, or realize still exists.