Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Flint Hills region of

Kansas Kansas () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its Capital city, capital is Topeka, Kansas, Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita, Kansas, Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebras ...

, north of Strong City. The preserve protects a nationally significant example of the once vast

tallgrass prairie The tallgrass prairie is an ecosystem native to central North America. Historically, natural and anthropogenic fire, as well as grazing by large mammals (primarily bison) provided periodic disturbances to these ecosystems, limiting the encroachm ...

ecosystem. Of the of tallgrass prairie that once covered the

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and th ...

n continent, less than 5% remains, primarily in the Flint Hills. Since 2009, the preserve has been home to the Tallgrass Prairie bison herd.

Description

The NPS and The Nature Conservancy work toward preservation of the tallgrass prairie, while sharing the story of ranching legacy, American Indian history, and the diverse tallgrass prairie ecosystem in the heart of the scenic Flint Hills of Kansas. There are over of maintained hiking trails in the preserve allowing visitors access to the tallgrass prairie. During the summer, narrated bus tours of the prairie are offered. On January 29, 2008, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve was named as one of the 8 Wonders of Kansas by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. File:2014 10 08 Colorado Oct 2014 0789.JPG, Entrance (2014) File:Barn (no-east facade) P5300397.JPG, Limestone barn (2012) File:Main House P5300374.JPG, Main house of Spring Hill Ranch (2012) File:Tallgrass Prairie P5300398.JPG, Tallgrass prairie File:Bw sky tall grass 2014 10 08 Colorado Oct 2014 0776 edited-1.jpg, Stormy sky Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve

Ranch history

Development of Spring Hill Ranch began in 1878, with land purchases in the Flint Hills by Stephen F. Jones, a cattle rancher originally from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 36th-largest by ...

. He completed the ranch headquarters in 1881, and was one of the early adopters in the region of enclosed ranching, in which cattle movements are limited by stone walls, fences, or

barbed wire A close-up view of a barbed wire Roll of modern agricultural barbed wire Barbed wire, also known as barb wire, is a type of steel fencing wire constructed with sharp edges or points arranged at intervals along the strands. Its primary use is ...

. This was a marked change that swept across the Plains in the 1880s, caused in large part by

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

in open range operations. Over the years that followed his initial purchase, Jones expanded the ranch to a size of . The Second Empire style ranch house was built for Jones in 1881 at an estimated cost of $25,000. Jones was also responsible for construction of the Lower Fox Creek School, built on land he donated. Jones used the ranch to grow herds of purebred cattle of several breeds, as well as some purebred breeds of hogs and sheep. Jones sold the ranch in 1888 to Barney Lantry. The Lantry family kept the ranch until 1904, primarily raising thoroughbred cattle. Spring Hill, the core of their holdings, was eventually divided up into smaller parcels. It was reassembled in a series of purchases executed in 1935 by George Davis, a grain dealer from

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more th ...

. Following Davis's death in 1955, the property was eventually put into a trust, and operated as the Z-Bar Ranch. Historic interest in the property began in the 1960s, when local groups organized the restoration of the Lower Fox Creek School. The ranch complex was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1971, one of the first listings in the state. The

National Audubon Society The National Audubon Society (Audubon; ) is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such orga ...

acquired an option to purchase the property in 1988, but this expired in 1990. It aroused wider interest in the property, resulting in its eventual acquisition by the National Park Trust. The entire ranch property was designated a

National Historic Landmark District National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

in 1997, primarily for its association with Jones and the end of the open range ranching era. The Spring Hill/Z-Bar Ranch was purchased by the National Park Trust in 1994. Legislation introduced in 1991 called for the creation of the Preserve, but local interests objected to the condition that the National Park Service would own it all. U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum convened a group of stakeholders to seek agreement on the formula for a tallgrass prairie park. The group began work in January 1992, and a different model for a national park emerged; it would be a public/private partnership, managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational properti ...

, but the land privately owned.

Preserve history

In 1994, Senators Kassebaum and Bob Dole introduced Senate bill S. 2412 in Congress, which would allow the Federal government to create a national preserve under the public/private partnership ownership arrangement. The bill limited National Park Service ownership to no more than of the preserve, the remainder owned by the National Park Trust; both would manage the new park cooperatively. On November 12, 1996, the bill became , later codified unde
16 USC 698
On September 20, 2002, National Park Trust donated approximately to the National Park Service; it included the 1881 historic ranch house, limestone barn and outbuildings, and one-room schoolhouse. National Park Trust worked with the National Park Service to plan and develop the park from 1996 to 2005. Though National Park Trust was named in the legislation, the law allowed for successor non-profits to own the land and continue the unique public/private ownership and management relationship. So, in 2005, National Park Trust sold the approximate to

The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy (TNC) is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nat ...

. Additionally Texas billionaire

Ed Bass Edward Perry "Ed" Bass (born September 10, 1945) is an American businessman, financier, philanthropist and environmentalist who lives in Fort Worth, Texas. He financed the Biosphere 2 project, an artificial closed ecological system, whic ...

, owns grazing rights to nearly until 2035 and whose cattle dot much of the hills and valleys of the preserve.

Management

The National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy established a bison herd with 13 animals in 2009 from

Wind Cave National Park Wind Cave National Park is an American national park located north of the town of Hot Springs in western South Dakota. Established on January 3, 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt, it was the sixth national park in the U.S. and the first c ...

. The population of 90 bison not only represent a vital component for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, but also help preserve the genetic integrity in the conservation of American bison. Typically a third of the prairie grasslands is burned each year.

References

External links