Kresge Foundation awards $750,000 to The Nature Conservancy in Kansas

Kresge Foundation Challenge Grant sets stage for final campaign push

Topeka, KS - The Nature Conservancy’s Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign to acquire the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Chase County and for other conservation priorities in Kansas has received a $750,000 challenge grant from The Kresge Foundation of Troy, Michigan. Kresge’s funding is designated for the nearly 11,000-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve project in the capital campaign.

The Kresge Foundation funds were awarded in the form of an 18-month challenge grant. The $750,000 grant is contingent on the Kansas Chapter raising approximately $3,000,000 in new private fund contributions/pledges to complete the $11,000,000 Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign by January 1, 2008. The flagship project in the campaign is the acquisition and enhancement of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the heart of the Flint Hills. The tallgrass prairie, which historically spanned the eastern third of the Great Plains, is one of the most altered major ecosystems in North America. Today, less than four percent of the historic total remains, most found in the Flint Hills of Kansas.

The Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign also includes initiatives throughout the state including the shortgrass prairie at Smoky Valley Ranch in western Kansas; Cheyenne Bottoms wetlands near Great Bend; and the Flint Hills Initiative, a community-based program working with ranchers and landowners.

"Natural areas are disappearing at a rapid pace," said Alan Pollom, State Director of the Kansas Chapter. "If future generations are to inherit a rich natural heritage, we must continue to work hard to conserve Kansas’ most imperiled landscapes."

The campaign has had great success so far thanks to the generosity of many individuals, foundations and corporations. "We're deeply grateful to everyone who has supported this campaign," said Rich Bailey, the Kansas Chapter's Director of Philanthropy. "This represents a phenomenal commitment to land conservation in Kansas."

“We are reaching out to all who believe in sustaining the tallgrass prairie, the wetlands, and shortgrass prairie in Kansas. With the deadline set by the Kresge Foundation, time truly is of the essence as we now enter the most difficult segment of fundraising in our campaign. We invite everyone to help support the Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign,” said Pollom.

Those interested in helping The Nature Conservancy respond to The Kresge Foundation’s Challenge should contact the Kansas Chapter at 785-233-4400 or by email, kansas@tnc.org.

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The Nature Conservancy is a private, international, non-profit organization established in 1951 to preserve the plants, animals and natural communities that represent the diversity of life on Earth by protecting the lands and waters they need to survive. To date, the Conservancy and its one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 117 million acres in the United States and 27 countries around the world. The Nature Conservancy in Kansas, a chapter of the global organization, has helped conserve more than 60,000 acres of natural land throughout the state of Kansas since 1989. For more information about The Nature Conservancy or the Kansas Prairie Legacy Campaign, visit us on the web at nature.org/Kansas or call 785-233-4400.