Kansas senatorial candidate Charles Schollenberger calls for the creation of a Great Plains National Park on low-production farmland in order to attract tourism to support suffering local economies.
Schollenberger writes: "The Great Plains National Park - also known as the Buffalo Commons National Park - would be in Wallace and Greeley counties in western Kansas. Its attractions would include approximately 1 million acres of natural short grass prairie inhabited by bison and other wildlife.
Under a proposal advanced by the Star on Nov. 15, 2009, land acquisition costs could come from the federal Land and Conservation Fund, which uses offshore oil and gas royalties for land protection. However, members of Congress will have to fight for the park if it is to be established.
The national park would be ideally situated in an area of western Kansas where depletion of ground water has turned irrigated farmland into dry, low-production land. The park would preserve native Kansas prairie and generate tourism, becoming a potential savior to dwindling local economies of the area."
FULL STORY: Guest column: Park needed
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