Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
- This article is about the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas. There is also a Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Oklahoma, and a Manitoba Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in Manitoba.
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve | |
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Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
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Location | Chase County, Kansas |
Nearest city | Emporia, Kansas |
Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Area | 10,894 acres (44.1 km2) |
Established | November 12, 1996 |
Visitors | 17,615 (in 2005) |
Governing body | National Park Service, The Nature Conservancy |
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located in the Flint Hills region of Kansas, north of Strong City. The preserve protects a nationally significant example of the once vast tallgrass prairie ecosystem. Of the 400,000 square miles (1,000,000 km2) of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American continent, less than 4% remains, primarily in the Flint Hills.[1] Since 2009, the preserve has been home to the growing Tallgrass Prairie bison herd.[2]
Description
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is a new kind of national park. The preserve is 10,894 acres (44 km2), but most of that land will remain under the ownership of The Nature Conservancy, which purchased the land in 2005. The National Park Service may own up to 180 acres (0.7 km2), yet the legislation calls for the entire area to be managed cooperatively by the National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy.
On September 20, 2002, approximately 32 acres (129,000 m2) were donated to the National Park Service from the National Park Trust who was the private landowner at the time. This area includes the 1881 historic ranch house, limestone barn and outbuildings, and one-room schoolhouse.
Tallgrass Prairie is the nation's second newest national preserve and the park is still under development with visitor opportunities continually being expanded.
There are currently five 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.
In 2009, The Nature Conservancy introduced a small herd of bison into the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.[3]
See also
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- Flint Hills
- Konza Prairie Preserve — Flint Hills tallgrass prairie.
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://www.nps.gov/tapr/naturescience/upload/TAPRBisonFact2012.pdf
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. National Park Service.
- Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The Nature Conservancy.
- Photo essay about the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. The Nature Conservancy.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. |
- This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the National Recreation Reservation Service.
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- Wikipedia articles incorporating text from public domain works of the United States Government
- Grasslands of the Great Plains (U.S.)
- National Preserves of the United States
- Nature reserves in Kansas
- Protected areas of Chase County, Kansas
- Prairies
- Recreational areas in Kansas
- Landforms of Kansas
- Protected areas established in 1996
- 1996 establishments in Kansas
- Nature Conservancy preserves
- National Park Service areas in Kansas
- Grasslands of Kansas