[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 118 (Friday, August 19, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: August 19, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
   INTRODUCTION OF LEGISLATION CREATING A TALLGRASS PRAIRIE NATIONAL 
                                PRESERVE

                                 ______


                           HON. DAN GLICKMAN

                               of kansas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, August 19, 1994

  Mr. GLICKMAN. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today to introduce 
legislation creating the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in Kansas. 
My colleagues from Kansas, Congressmen Slattery and Roberts and 
Congresswoman Jan Meyers have joined me, as well as Senators Kassebaum 
and Dole, in cosponsoring this bill which will bring Kansas its first 
major national park.
  In the 1820's, there were 140 million acres of tallgrass prairie 
stretching from Ohio to Kansas and from Oklahoma to North Dakota. Today 
less than 1 percent of it remains. No other grassland system anywhere 
supports the biological diversity of tallgrass prairie. Every other 
ecosystem has been honored with inclusion in the National Park System--
mountains, seashores, desert, marshland, ancient forests--but no tall 
grass prairie. A tallgrass prairie is one of the only ecosystems 
missing in the National Park System.
  I have worked for many years toward the goal of creating the first 
national park dedicated to preserving the tallgrass prairie as it 
existed hundreds of years ago in the State of Kansas.
  The bill we are introducing today, creating the Tallgrass Prairie 
National Preserve, allows the National Park Service to purchase a core 
area of 180 acres in the Flint Hills of Kansas, and protects almost 
11,000 acres of rolling hills, tallgrass prairie, and historic 
buildings over 100 years old, known as the Z-Bar Ranch. It is vitally 
important that we bring the tallgrass prairie ecosystem into the 
National Park System.
  A feasibility study of the area conducted by the National Park 
Service in 1990 noted, ``When traveling to the Z-Bar Ranch in Chase 
County, Kansas, a visitor is exposed to some of the most dramatic 
landscapes of tallgrass prairie that exist anywhere. Seemingly endless 
miles of rolling grasslands stretch out to surround the visitor from 
horizon to horizon.''
  The Park Service, Congress, and countless environmental organizations 
across the country have shown significant interest in creating a 
national park or monument in our State. In fact, similar legislation I 
introduced in the 102d Congress passed the House of Representatives 
overwhelmingly.
  The establishment of a national park would bring considerable 
benefits to Kansas and it is important for Kansas to become part of the 
National Park System. Given that the tallgrass prairie is the most 
distinctively American landform, this could be one of the most 
important preservation projects in the country.
  The Park Service feasibility study concluded that the Z-Bar Ranch 
exhibits a high degree of national significance. To quote that study, 
``While the tallgrass prairie is considered of prime significance, this 
ecosystem is very underrepresented in the National Park System * * * 
The Z-Bar Ranch depicts the significant historic theme of ranches and 
the cattlemen's empire, which includes the evolution of the holdings of 
large cattle companies during the latter half of the 19th century.''
  Based on the very positive support in Kansas and around the country, 
I am introducing legislation to establish the Tallgrass Prairie 
National Preserve, to preserve a part of the tallgrass prairie in the 
Flint Hills of Kansas, to protect the area's unique environmental 
features, and to interpret the historic, natural, and cultural 
characteristics of that area, including rural farming and ranching 
activities.
  The Z-Bar Ranch is now owned by a group called the National Park 
Trust. Under my bill, the Trust will make the property available to the 
public through affiliation with the National Park Service. Also 
included in the legislation is the authorization for the National Park 
Service to purchase a 180-acre core area which includes a 19th-century 
ranch house, barn, and a one-room schoolhouse, all of which are listed 
on the National Register of Historic Places.
  This unique arrangement with the National Park Service is 
an innovative approach which will give Kansas the expertise of the 
National Park System for operations, will save scarce Park Service 
financial resources, will keep the vast majority of the land in private 
hands, and will allow for the Kansas site to be listed on the National 
Park System maps.

  This park would be of great significance to the entire State. Jobs 
and business opportunities created or enhanced in the Chase County area 
would benefit people in the towns and in the countryside as well. Farm 
and ranch families need additional jobs and economic opportunities to 
sustain their rural lifestyles.
  My overriding goal throughout the past few years of debate over 
public/private ownership has been to preserve the ranch and keep it 
open to the public as an educational and historical resource to learn 
about the native prairie ecosystem and the history of ranching in 
Kansas. I believe the ranch would be managed best by the National Park 
Service, which has the resources and experience to do an excellent job, 
and I am very pleased that the National Park Trust is willing to work 
hand in hand with the Park Service on this venture. I am also extremely 
pleased that this legislation has the support of the entire Kansas 
congressional delegation, both in the House and the Senate.
  Kansas was not blessed with beaches or mountains, but we do have 
something extraordinary to offer the rest of the Nation and the rest of 
the world: the broad expanse of tallgrass prairie.
  The beauty of a national park facility is that it can be utilized and 
enjoyed by people from all over the United States and all over the 
world, but we in the State of Kansas still have it to call our own. The 
beauty and culture of the Flint Hills is a truly sustainable resource 
and we should take this opportunity to preserve it for generations to 
come.

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