National Geographic Features the Flint Hills

Topeka, Kansas - March 20, 2007

Nine million subscribers worldwide will have the opportunity to discover the tallgrass prairie in National Geographic's article, Splendor of the Grass, in the April 2007 issue available soon on newsstands. The article is part of the magazine's ongoing coverage of the nation's great landscapes.

"This article brings to attention what The Nature Conservancy has realized for decades - the Flint Hills and the tallgrass prairie are important both ecologically and for its beauty. That is why we have worked so hard to protect thousands of acres through our conservation efforts," said Alan Pollom, State Director of The Nature Conservancy Kansas Chapter.

"This article gives us an opportunity to show the world how unique and important the Flint Hills are," said Pollom. "America's tallgrass prairie once rivaled Africa's Serengeti for its richness in wildlife; a staggering number of pronghorn, bison and elk made their home in our wide open grasslands. Today, less than 4 percent of this once-expansive tallgrass prairie remains, making it one of the most imperiled natural systems in the world."

The Nature Conservancy's first tallgrass prairie preserve came to fruition in the 1970's with the acquisition of Konza Prairie, south of Manhattan, Kansas. Now, with the recent purchase of the nearly 11,000-acre Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve and over 15,000 acres of conservation easements, the Conservancy has protected more than 39,000 acres of ecologically important land in the Flint Hills region and established a community-based Flint Hills Initiative.

The Nature Conservancy is the leading conservation organization working to protect the most ecologically important lands and waters around the world for nature and people. To date, the Conservancy and its more than one million members have been responsible for the protection of more than 15 million acres in the United States and have helped preserve more than 102 million acres in Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.