In descending order of land area it is located in parts of Fall River, Pennington, Jackson, and Custer counties.

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 48,000 acres (19,000 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.

The center features exhibits about grassland wildlife and plants, grazing management and the history of the Great Plains.