52-514: 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 km) of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American continent, less than 5% remains, primarily in
104-625: A National Historic Landmark District in 1997, primarily for its association with Jones and the end of the open range ranching era. The 10,882-acre (4,404 ha) Spring Hill/Z-Bar Ranch was purchased by the National Park Trust in 1994. Legislation introduced in 1991 called for the creation of the Preserve, but local interests objected to the condition that the National Park Service would own it all. U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum convened
156-559: A bison herd with 13 animals in 2009 from Wind Cave National Park . The population of 90 bison not only represent a vital component for the tallgrass prairie ecosystem, but also help preserve the genetic integrity in the conservation of American bison . Typically a third of the prairie grasslands is burned each year. The fire and grazing animals are used to prevent trees from taking over the prairie. [REDACTED] This article incorporates public domain material from Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, KS . Federal government of
208-711: A 4-star rating, with a score of 96%, for the 2022 fiscal year. Like many large environmental groups such as the Sierra Club and the World Wildlife Fund , the Conservancy includes allowances for hunting and fishing within its management policies. The organization does not totally ban hunting or fishing but defers to state hunting and fishing regulations. The organization publishes The Nature Conservancy magazine ( ISSN 1540-2428 ; six issues per year). In 2003 The Washington Post ran an investigative series about
260-639: A group of stakeholders to seek agreement on the formula for a tallgrass prairie park. The group began work in January 1992, and a different model for a national park emerged; it would be a public/private partnership, managed by the National Park Service , but the land privately owned. In 1994, Senators Kassebaum and Bob Dole introduced Senate bill S. 2412 in Congress, which would allow the Federal government to create
312-586: A mission of conserving open space and wildlife preserves. The Nature Conservancy was incorporated in the United States as a non-profit organization on October 22, 1951. As the organization grew, the organization focused largely on buying as much land as possible in the name of conservation with little scientific research conducted on land before being purchased. Patrick Noonan served as President from 1973 to 1980 and spearheaded major land acquisitions, fundraising and decentralized growth of state programs. In 1970
364-421: A national preserve under the public/private partnership ownership arrangement. The bill limited National Park Service ownership to no more than 180 acres (73 ha) of the preserve, the remainder owned by the National Park Trust; both would manage the new park cooperatively. On November 12, 1996, the bill became Pub. L. 104–333 (text) (PDF) , later codified under 16 USC 698 . On September 20, 2002,
416-509: Is a global environmental organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia . As of 2021, it works via affiliates or branches in 79 countries and territories, as well as across every state in the US. Founded in 1951, The Nature Conservancy has over one million members globally as of 2021 and has protected more than 119 million acres (48 million ha) of land in its history. As of 2014, it
468-634: Is an effort to plant one billion trees across the globe in forests with the greatest need and has been operating since 2008 to plant trees in Brazil, China, Colombia, Guatemala, Kenya, Tanzania, Mexico, and the United States. As part of the overall campaign, The Nature Conservancy pledged to plant 25 million trees as part of the launch of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP)'s Billion Tree Campaign. This campaign encourages individuals and organizations to plant their own trees around
520-806: Is home to ten of them, including the largest, Noatak National Preserve . Their total area is 24,651,566 acres (99,761 km ), 86% of which is in Alaska. All national preserves except Tallgrass Prairie permit hunting in accordance with local regulations. A national preserve differs from a national reserve as management of reserves can be delegated to the state in which they are located. The first national preserves were Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas and Big Cypress National Preserve in Florida, both established in 1974. The Big Cypress Swamp, adjacent to Everglades National Park and originally intended to be included in it,
572-470: Is no administrative difference. The remaining ten are stand-alone units. Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve has a preserve site that is managed like one, but is not distinguished as a national preserve in the authorizing legislation and is not listed here. The Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve is a unique designation that is dissimilar to national preserves. National preserves are located in eleven states; Alaska
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#1732851474579624-586: Is the largest environmental non-profit organization by assets and revenue in the Americas. The Nature Conservancy developed out of a scholarly organization initially known as the Ecological Society of America (ESA). The ESA was founded in 1915, and later formed a Committee on Preservation of Natural Areas for Ecological Study, headed by Victor Shelford . The primary aim of Shelford was to find areas of land that would be beneficial for long-term research. By
676-495: The Conservancy a model of ethical standards for nonprofit organizations. After service as The Nature Conservancy's president for one year, Brian McPeek resigned on May 31, 2019, after a report on an internal investigation of sexual harassment was revealed by Politico and two other senior executives were ultimately dismissed based on its findings. On June 7, 2019, Mark Tercek , CEO since 2008, announced his resignation following
728-931: The Guatemala–Mexico border . They brokered the protection of 370,000 acres (1,500 km ) of tropical forest in Calakmul . In another program, TNC is working to protect wildlife habitat in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. In 2007, the Nature Conservancy made a 161,000-acre (650 km ) purchase of New York forestland from Finch Paper Holdings LLC for $ 110 million, its largest purchase ever in that state. In June 2008, The Nature Conservancy and The Trust for Public Land announced they reached an agreement to purchase approximately 320,000 acres (1,300 km ) of western Montana forestland from Plum Creek Timber Company for $ 510 million. The purchase, known as
780-518: The Gulf oil spill . Writer and activist Naomi Klein has strongly criticized The Nature Conservancy for earning money from an oil well on land it controls in Texas and for its continued engagement with fossil fuel companies. The Nature Conservancy responded by arguing that it had no choice, under the terms of a lease it signed years prior with an oil and gas company and later came to regret. In 2020, Bloomberg published an article claiming that some of
832-531: The Montana Legacy Project , is part of an effort to keep these forests in productive timber management and protect the area's clean water and abundant fish and wildlife habitat, while promoting continued public access to these lands for fishing, hiking, hunting and other recreational pursuits. As a follow-on, in 2015 The Nature Conservancy made a $ 134 million transaction to purchase 165,073 acres (668.03 km ) – of forests, rivers and wildlife habitat in
884-693: The Natural Heritage Network , a network of state natural heritage programs. The Nature Conservancy's efforts include conservation in North America , Central America , and South America , Africa , the Pacific Rim , the Caribbean , and Asia . The Nature Conservancy and its conservation partner, Pronatura Peninsula Yucatán, to halt deforestation on private lands in and around the 1.8 million acre (7,300 km ) Calakmul Biosphere Reserve , along
936-651: The enabling legislation of the unit. All national preserves are managed by the National Park Service (NPS) as part of the National Park System. Eleven national preserves are co-managed with national parks or national monuments ; because hunting is forbidden in those units, preserves provide a similar level of protection from development but allow hunting and in some cases grazing . Nine of those are counted as separate official units , while New River Gorge National Park and Preserve and Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve are each single units, though there
988-570: The 1930s, Shelford and his colleagues such as Aldo Leopold increasingly sought to advocate for conservation. The divide in viewpoints regarding scholarship or advocacy led the Society to dissolve the committee and in 1946, Shelford and his colleagues formed the Ecologists' Union. The latter group eventually took the name "The Nature Conservancy", in emulation of the British agency of that name, which pursued
1040-580: The Big Cypress Watershed," though off-road vehicle use, oil extraction, hunting, and traditional use by the Miccosukee and Seminole Tribes are permitted. The Big Thicket, a large area of swamps and forests, was originally proposed to be preserved as a state park or national park, but these were opposed by timber firms who wanted to retain their logging lands. A 1967 survey by the National Park Service proposed establishing nine units representative of
1092-825: The Cascade Mountain Range of Washington and in the Blackfoot River Valley in Montana. The Conservancy also acquired this land from Plum Creek, including 47,921 acres (193.93 km ) in the Yakima River Headwaters in Washington and 117,152 acres (474.10 km ) in the Lower Blackfoot River Watershed in Montana. Nature United is the Canadian affiliate of The Nature Conservancy. Nature United
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#17328514745791144-568: The Conservancy's CEO, Jennifer Morris, charging that The Nature Conservancy was overly supportive of logging interests and the use of wood products as a natural climate solution . TNC is a member of the Forest Climate Working Group alongside wood product companies like Weyerhaeuser and Enviva , and other conservation organizations like the Trust for Public Land and American Forests . The Charity Navigator gave The Nature Conservancy
1196-528: The Flint Hills. Since 2009, the preserve has been home to the Tallgrass Prairie bison herd . The NPS and The Nature Conservancy work toward preservation of the tallgrass prairie, while sharing the story of ranching legacy, American Indian history, and the diverse tallgrass prairie ecosystem in the heart of the scenic Flint Hills of Kansas. There are over 40 miles (64 km) of maintained hiking trails in
1248-478: The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation. Financing for this effort was organized by The Nature Conservancy's impact investing unit called NatureVest. NatureVest was created in 2014 with founding sponsorship from JPMorgan Chase with the stated goal of sourcing and putting to work at least $ 1 billion of impact investment capital for measurable conservation outcomes over three years. For their work on
1300-535: The Lower Fox Creek School. The ranch complex was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971, one of the first listings in the state. The National Audubon Society acquired an option to purchase the property in 1988, but this expired in 1990. It aroused wider interest in the property, resulting in its eventual acquisition by the National Park Trust. The entire ranch property was designated
1352-2694: The Moon National Monument and Preserve ) 62°30′N 152°18′W / 62.5°N 152.3°W / 62.5; -152.3 ( Denali National Park and Preserve ) 66°54′N 154°42′W / 66.9°N 154.7°W / 66.9; -154.7 ( Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve ) 59°06′N 138°24′W / 59.1°N 138.4°W / 59.1; -138.4 ( Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve ) 37°48′N 105°30′W / 37.8°N 105.5°W / 37.8; -105.5 ( Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve ) 59°06′N 155°12′W / 59.1°N 155.2°W / 59.1; -155.2 ( Katmai National Park and Preserve ) 60°58′N 153°55′W / 60.97°N 153.92°W / 60.97; -153.92 ( Lake Clark National Park and Preserve ) 34°26′N 85°36′W / 34.44°N 85.6°W / 34.44; -85.6 ( Little River Canyon National Preserve ) 34°54′N 115°42′W / 34.9°N 115.7°W / 34.9; -115.7 ( Mojave National Preserve ) 37°52′N 81°02′W / 37.87°N 81.03°W / 37.87; -81.03 ( New River Gorge National Park and Preserve ) 68°00′N 159°30′W / 68°N 159.5°W / 68; -159.5 ( Noatak National Preserve ) 42°06′N 123°23′W / 42.1°N 123.38°W / 42.1; -123.38 ( Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve ) 38°26′N 96°34′W / 38.43°N 96.56°W / 38.43; -96.56 ( Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve ) 30°27′N 81°27′W / 30.45°N 81.45°W / 30.45; -81.45 ( Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve ) 35°54′N 106°30′W / 35.9°N 106.5°W / 35.9; -106.5 ( Valles Caldera National Preserve ) 61°26′N 142°57′W / 61.44°N 142.95°W / 61.44; -142.95 ( Wrangell–St. Elias National Park and Preserve ) 65°00′N 143°30′W / 65°N 143.5°W / 65; -143.5 ( Yukon–Charley Rivers National Preserve ) The Nature Conservancy The Nature Conservancy ( TNC )
1404-480: The NPS can close areas to such practices as needed. Although hunting was also allowed at most national recreation areas , this was a major change in NPS wildlife management with a fifth of its land now open to it. Five new units were established from 1988 to 2000, two of which are partnerships with local governments and landowners. The Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve includes sites owned by Florida State Parks ,
1456-421: The National Park Trust donated approximately 32 acres (13 ha) to the National Park Service; it included the 1881 historic ranch house, limestone barn and outbuildings, and one-room schoolhouse. The National Park Trust worked with the National Park Service to plan and develop the park from 1996 to 2005. Though the National Park Trust was named in the legislation, the law allowed for successor non-profits to own
1508-521: The Nature Conservancy with allegations of improper dealing and other improprieties that the Nature Conservancy contested. In part, the Post alleged the Conservancy had, time and again, bought ecologically significant tracts of land, attached some development restrictions and then resold the properties to trustees and supporters at greatly reduced prices. The sales were part of a program that limits intrusive development but generally allows buyers to build homes on
1560-733: The Seychelles debt restructuring , The Nature Conservancy and JPMorgan Chase were given the FT/ITC Transformational Business Award for Achievement in Transformational Finance. The award is given by the Financial Times and the World Bank's International Finance Corporation (IFC) for ground-breaking, commercially viable solutions to development challenges. The Nature Conservancy's "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign
1612-528: The United States . Retrieved November 20, 2016 . United States National Preserve There are 21 protected areas of the United States designated as national preserves . They were established by an act of Congress to protect areas that have resources often associated with national parks but where certain natural resource -extractive activities such as hunting and mining may be permitted, provided their natural values are preserved. The activities permitted in each national preserve vary depending on
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1664-523: The area's "natural and ecological integrity in perpetuity," while permitting hunting. Following President Jimmy Carter 's 1978 establishment of 17 national monuments in Alaska, the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act of 1980 redesignated four as national preserves and six as national parks or monuments paired with a preserve. These had been recommended during the legislative process as early as 1974 to resolve
1716-427: The atmosphere and stabilize global climate. The Nature Conservancy has over one million members across the world as of 2021 . As of 2014 , it was the largest environmental non-profit organization by assets and revenue in the Americas. The Nature Conservancy has ties to many large companies, including those in the oil, gas, mining, chemical and agricultural industries. As of 2016 , its board of directors included
1768-586: The city of Jacksonville , and private landowners. The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve is so designated to accommodate a public-private partnership reducing federal land ownership, and it is almost entirely owned by The Nature Conservancy . Valles Caldera National Preserve was originally established in 2000 to be operated by an independent trust, but its management was transferred to the National Park Service in 2015. The four most recently established national preserves were all expansions or redesignations of existing NPS sites. Great Sand Dunes National Monument
1820-511: The companies (such as JPMorgan Chase, Disney , and BlackRock ) that purchase carbon credits from The Nature Conservancy were purchasing carbon credits for forests that did not need protection. In 2021, The Nature Conservancy partnered with Amazon to compensate local farmers for restoring and protecting rainforests in Para, Brazil . In 2022, a group of 158 conservation, environmental, and social justice non-profit organizations signed an open letter to
1872-457: The core of their holdings, was eventually divided up into smaller parcels. It was reassembled in a series of purchases executed in 1935 by George Davis, a grain dealer from Kansas City . Following Davis's death in 1955, the property was eventually put into a trust, and operated as the Z-Bar Ranch. Historic interest in the property began in the 1960s, when local groups organized the restoration of
1924-636: The finalization of the first ever debt swap in Seychelles aimed at ocean conservation. The new protected area increases the country's marine protected waters from less than 1 percent to more than 30 percent including support for the creation of the second largest Marine Protected Area in the Western Indian Ocean. The debt swap deal was made possible through a partnership with the Seychelles Ministry of Finance, support of debt-holding nations including France, and grants from private organizations led by
1976-520: The issue of sport hunting at Lake Clark after it was used for Big Thicket and Big Cypress. While this was not the primary factor in the naming of the original national preserves, it presented a compromise to protect scenic lands and allow hunting in the National Park System without breaking precedent in parks and monuments that forbid it. The national preserves are managed in the same way as national parks, except that regulated hunting, fishing, and trapping for sport and subsistence are permitted, though
2028-443: The land and continue the unique public/private ownership and management relationship. So, in 2005, the National Park Trust sold the approximate 10,862 acres (4,396 ha) to The Nature Conservancy . Additionally Texas billionaire Ed Bass owns grazing rights to nearly 10,000 acres (4,000 ha) until 2035; his cattle dot much of the hills and valleys of the preserve. The National Park Service and The Nature Conservancy established
2080-696: The land. The buyers then gave the Conservancy cash that was roughly equivalent to the amount of the discounts. That allowed the new owners to take significant tax deductions for charitable gifts. The Nature Conservancy suspended a range of practices shortly after the articles ran including these sales, licensing its logo to corporations whose executives sat on the Conservancy's governing board and council, all new logging and other "resource extraction activities" such as oil and gas drilling on its nature preserves, and all new loans to employees. The Conservancy launched an independent review that issued its final report in 2004, calling for sweeping reforms aimed at making
2132-474: The organization hired its first staff scientist, Robert E. Jenkins Jr., who helped the organization refocus its mission to conserving natural diversity. With Noonan's support, in 1974 Jenkins began to partner with state governments to develop state-by-state inventories which assembled and stored data on the "elements" of nature (e.g. rare species and natural communities) and on "element occurrences" (the specific locations where they occur), which later morphed into
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2184-504: 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 by the Kansas Sampler Foundation . Development of Spring Hill Ranch began in 1878, with land purchases in the Flint Hills by Stephen F. Jones, a cattle rancher originally from Tennessee . He completed
2236-880: The preserve portions may be substantially smaller. Among these eleven, only Lake Clark and Wrangell–St. Elias have most of their facilities in the preserve. 56°48′N 157°42′W / 56.8°N 157.7°W / 56.8; -157.7 ( Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve ) 65°50′N 164°10′W / 65.83°N 164.17°W / 65.83; -164.17 ( Bering Land Bridge National Preserve ) 25°52′N 81°02′W / 25.86°N 81.03°W / 25.86; -81.03 ( Big Cypress National Preserve ) 30°33′N 94°20′W / 30.55°N 94.34°W / 30.55; -94.34 ( Big Thicket National Preserve ) 42°16′N 113°23′W / 42.26°N 113.38°W / 42.26; -113.38 ( Craters of
2288-518: The ranch headquarters in 1881, and was one of the early adopters in the region of enclosed ranching, in which cattle movements are limited by stone walls, fences, or barbed wire . This was a marked change that swept across the Plains in the 1880s, caused in large part by overgrazing in open range operations. Over the years that followed his initial purchase, Jones expanded the ranch to a size of 7,000 acres (2,800 ha). The Second Empire style ranch house
2340-453: The retired chairman of Duke Energy , and executives from Merck , HP , Google and several financial industry groups. It also has a Business Council which it describes as a consultative forum that includes Bank of America , BP America , Chevron , Coca-Cola , Dow Chemical , Duke Energy , General Mills , Royal Dutch Shell , and Starbucks . The organization faced criticism in 2010 from supporters for its refusal to cut ties with BP after
2392-418: The unit's size ninefold. Ten percent of New River Gorge National River was redesignated a national park where hunting was disallowed, and the remainder became New River Gorge National Preserve with little change. Download coordinates as: Preserves paired with a national park or monument do not have visitation separately recorded. Their combined visitor counts are marked in italics, as the number visiting
2444-531: The variety of plant life in the region, but because the thicket was already fragmented by roads and logging, it would not qualify as a national park. National monument was also deemed a suboptimal designation, and compromise on the boundary and management provisions eventually led to its establishment as a national preserve. The bills creating both preserves were signed on the same day by President Gerald Ford and contained similar wording limiting construction, agriculture, and mineral extraction to that still assuring
2496-430: The world and record this action on the website as a tally. Its "Plant a Billion Trees" campaign in Brazil aims to restore Brazil's Atlantic Forest by planting native trees on 2.5 million acres (10,000 km ) that have been deforested . The Plant a Billion Trees campaign has also been identified as a tool to help slow climate change with forest restoration being an effective way to help regulate emissions in
2548-539: Was at risk of destruction by a proposed airport. Opposition by conservationists and studies showing the swamp's role in water protection led to its cancellation after one runway was built, and President Richard Nixon proposed the area's preservation as Big Cypress National Fresh Water Reserve to protect the local water supply. Congressional deliberation resulted in a new designation of a national preserve that bought out private landowners to conserve "the natural, scenic, hydrologic, floral and faunaI, and recreational values of
2600-497: Was built for Jones in 1881 at an estimated cost of $ 25,000. Jones was also responsible for construction of the Lower Fox Creek School , built on land he donated. Jones used the ranch to grow herds of purebred cattle of several breeds, as well as some purebred breeds of hogs and sheep. Jones sold the ranch in 1888 to Barney Lantry. The Lantry family kept the ranch until 1904, primarily raising thoroughbred cattle. Spring Hill,
2652-674: Was founded as a Canadian charity in 2014, building on decades of conservation in Canada. Headquartered in Toronto, the organization has field staff located across the country. Nature United supports Indigenous leadership, sustainable economic development, and large-scale conservation, primarily in the Great Bear Rainforest, Clayoquot Sound, the Northwest Territories, and northern Manitoba. In December 2015, The Nature Conservancy announced
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#17328514745792704-514: Was redesignated a national park, and the mountainous wilderness area transferred to it from the U.S. Forest Service became the preserve. President Bill Clinton expanded Craters of the Moon National Monument using the Antiquities Act , and most of the expanded area was redesignated a national preserve two years later to permit hunting. Oregon Caves National Monument gained its preserve lands from Rogue River–Siskiyou National Forest , increasing
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