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Scenic ranch preserved in the Flint Hills

The Kansas Land Trust celebrates the preservation of the Youngmeyer Ranch in Elk County. This 4,700-acre prairie nested in the Flint Hills will forever be preserved as a working ranch. Owned by the Earl W. Jr. and Terri Youngmeyer Family Foundation, this prairie will also be an ecological research site for Wichita State University. Over 500 prairie plant species have been documented on this site including rich biodiversity indicator species such as green dragon, bottle-brush sedge, ground-plum milk vetch, bread-root scurf-pea, inland ceanothus, and two-flower celestial-lily. This prairie also provides rich wildlife habitat for the greater prairie chicken.

KLT gives special thanks to Daniel Offidani, trustee for the Youngmeyer Family Foundation, and their funding partners. Over the past several years the Kansas Land Trust collaborated with National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to conserve over 16,000 acres, including the Youngmeyer Ranch, through a Native Environment Conservation Plan with financial support from Tradewind Energy and Enel Green Power North America, owner and operator of the Caney River Wind Project.

Working with their partners, KLT will invite you to a dedication of this conserved prairie next spring.