The Nature Conservancy campaign case statement by Melissa Meyer

Generations

few generations ago, when European settlers began arriving in large numbers to the central United States, they encountered a seemingly endless landscape bursting with grasses and wildflowers and teeming with legions of bison, prairie dogs, elk, and grassland birds. Images of the prairie and its wildlife ingrained themselves in the psyche of an expanding country and became symbols of limitless opportunity. Soon, however, the nutrient-rich soils that sustained this abundance of life became the prairie’s undoing as settlers began converting the grasslands to conventional farms. Present-day Kansas—this vast, fertile 53 million acres of possibility, industry, and open prairie—seems like plenty of space for people and wildlife. But in Kansas, as around the world, human needs increasingly dominate the land. More than 21 million acres of cropland and as many acres of grazing lands provide food, feed, and industrial crops alike; however, unsustainable development and land use practices can drive out native wildlife, deplete groundwater sources, and degrade freshwater systems.

“...These things—the air, the water, the scenery and we who fill these scenes—hold many and many a man to Kansas when money would tempt him away...Here are the still waters, here are the green pastures. Here, the fairest of the world’s habitations.” — WILLIAM ALLEN WHITE

Prairie Panorama;

Photo © Jim Griggs

What makes Kansas strong—our economy, our culture, our way of life—ultimately depends on nature. Nature provides clean air, drinking water, food, and for many of us, our livelihoods. A generation ago, in 1989, dedicated volunteers recognized this and came together from across Kansas to establish a statewide unit of The Nature Conservancy. As we prepare for our thirtieth anniversary, we must note how Kansas—and the world—has changed. In 1989, the human population on Earth was 5.2 billion. In 2019 that number is expected to reach 7.6 billion, an increase of 46 percent. While the population in Kansas has not grown at the same pace (2.47 million to 2.99 million or 21 percent), the global demand for food and energy will put an unprecedented strain on the state’s lands and waters. As society struggles to provide enough energy, food, water and other resources to sustain a growing population, we often find solutions at nature’s expense. We at The Nature Conservancy believe it is time to create an even stronger and more resilient Kansas—a Kansas that meets the needs of both people and nature. A Kansas where the diversity of life thrives and people conserve nature for its own sake as well as its ability to fulfill our needs and enrich our lives.

The decisions we make now—in Kansas, as Kansas—will determine how future generations engage with the natural world.

Where We Are Thirty years is defined as one generation. In this past generation, the Kansas Chapter has grown tremendously. We own or have easements on more than 130,000 acres of land across the state – in the Flint Hills and in the short- and mixed-grass prairies of western Kansas. We have begun making significant impact in the Red Hills, and with our partners, have protected thousands of acres through conservation easements in the Smoky Hills of central Kansas. Creating protected areas will always be part of our strategy for conserving Kansas lands and waters; however, we must do more.

Arikaree Breaks

Flint Hills Landscape

High Plains Chalk Bluffs

Crosstimbers

Sandsage Prairie

Cherokee Lowlands

Red Hills Landscape

Conservation Easements & Preserves

Great Bend Sand Prairies Smoky Hills Landscape 4

Wetlands Projects New Water Projects

Where We Are Going Recognizing that we cannot just maintain the same pace of conservation, The Nature Conservancy will build on 30 years of conservation success in Kansas and double our impact over the next five years. • We will inspire more private land conservation, working to connect protected areas into habitat corridors for wildlife. • We will support land-use practices that increase soil carbon storage and the health of our water resources. • We will promote clean energy without sacrificing ecological integrity. Kings Creek Sampling, Konza Biological Research Station; Photo © Laura Rose Clawson/The Nature Conservancy

Plant Survey, Smoky Valley Ranch; Photo © Brian Schoenfish

• And we will show that conserving the wild places and animals of Kansas not only protects the natural world for future generations, but also makes our lives better, safer, and more prosperous today.

Air Quality Testing; Photo © John Parker

How We Get There Our Campaign To fund our ambitious five-year plan, we have launched Generations, the largest campaign in our chapter’s history. Through it, we are increasing funding and shifting resources to land, water, and air projects that provide significant ecological benefits to Kansas. We also acknowledge that our science-based and collaborative approach to conservation means that we could take on unanticipated projects. We will make sure we are ready to take immediate action as new opportunities emerge. Emerging Opportunities

$2.5 million

Air

Land

$2 million

$10 million

Total

$17.5 million

Water

$3 million

While the campaign goal represents new strategic and capital investments, we will continue to raise annual funds for our existing conservation programs.

Smoke Monitoring at Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve; Photo © Laura Rose Clawson/The Nature Conservancy

Land Nature doesn’t sit still. Mammals journey to find mates, Monarch butterflies travel to avoid cold winters, and migratory birds seek out places for food and rest. A growing human population and changing climate add even more pressure and complexity to this dynamic situation, increasingly forcing species to find new habitat. If species cannot move within a landscape, they might face extinction. The Conservancy has always worked on our preserves to protect habitat and demonstrate conservation management techniques to other landowners. More recently, we have used conservation easements on other private lands to protect habitat and ecological processes. Now, however, we need to think—and act—on a much bigger scale. We plan to double the number of acres we hold under easement, focusing in areas near current holdings. And we will increase the value of our existing land investments by working with landowners to employ ecological management on their easements.

Little Jerusalem at Sunrise; Photo © Brian Schoenfish

Burrowing Owls, Logan County;

Flint Hills Cattle Drive;

HABITAT By 2022 we plan to place an additional 105,000 acres of priority grassland under ownership or conservation easement. We will give the highest preference to tracts of land near current holdings so that grassland species have intact passageways through which to move.

SHARED LANDSCAPES The Nature Conservancy operates in all 50 of the United States and more than 70 additional countries throughout the world. Birds that stop through Cheyenne Bottoms may be traveling from the Arctic to the tip of Argentina. Therefore, conservation practices around the world connect to the work the Conservancy conducts here in Kansas. Our worldwide reach also makes it easy for us to share research, expertise and potential solutions to conservation challenges.

Photo © Bob Gress

PRIVATE LANDS More than 97% of land in Kansas is privately held. If conservation practices aren’t financially viable, landowners won’t implement them. As a private landowner, the Conservancy applies and promotes conservation practices that are beneficial ecologically and economically. We then freely share our findings and, in some cases, our labor and equipment to help other landowners carry out these practices. We plan to increase the amount of “communitybased conservation” and influence ecological stewardship of 200,000 acres of additional land by 2022.

Photo © Ryan Donnell

Water The streams of Kansas—from large rivers to small creeks—are arguably the state’s most neglected natural features. A 2012 assessment* found 75% of streams in the state are impaired for one or more human uses. A land that once sparkled with clean, f lowing waters now has some of the most degraded streams in North America. In addition to preserving the state’s most pristine and vulnerable grassland streams, we will promote practices that result in cleaner water for urban populations. We are also finding innovative ways to balance the needs of agricultural producers with those of nature in water-stressed areas. And we are forming state and national partnerships to improve the health of the Kansas River. *conducted by the Kansas Department of Health & Environment

Quivira National Wildlife Refuge;

Photo © Judd Patterson

SUSTAINABLE RIVERS The Nature Conservancy launched the Sustainable Rivers Project (SRP), a nationwide partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2002 to modernize dam operations for the benefit of entire river systems. The Kansas River became a Sustainable River Project in 2017. The Conservancy has since brought together numerous partners to determine cost effective ways to improve water quality and quantity in a river that sustains nearly a million people. RATTLESNAKE CREEK This tributary of the Arkansas River flows through Quivira National Wildlife Refuge, feeding the marshes that host hundreds of species of migratory birds. In recent years, a decline in the streamflow of Rattlesnake Creek has imperiled this internationally significant wetland system. The Conservancy is working with local farmers and the regional Groundwater Management District to find innovative solutions to the water shortage, while maintaining productive farms and restoring the health of the region’s agricultural soils.

Stream Adventures, Kings Creek; Photo © Kris Knight/The Nature Conservancy

UPPER BLUE RIVER IN KANSAS CITY Two-thirds of the water in the Kansas City metropolitan area drains into the Blue River. The river provides important wildlife habitat, ecosystem services, and a venue for outdoor recreation. A partnership has been active along the Middle Blue River east of the state line for a few years. By protecting the headwaters and upper watershed, we can restore and revitalize projects downstream and help mitigate against local flood impacts. WETLANDS In addition to its streams, Kansas has many important wetlands: the ephemeral playas of western Kansas, Cheyenne Bottoms and Quivira National Refuge in central Kansas, Marais des Cygnes and numerous other smaller lakes and marshes in eastern Kansas. The Conservancy will protect and restore more of these critical wetland habitats for migratory birds. PRIORITY GRASSLAND STREAMS Eight streams in Kansas have been defined as pristine “heritage streams”. The quality and quantity of the water in these streams are nearly as high today as they were hundreds of years ago. Through land protection and management, the Conservancy will work to protect more priority streams like these for future generations. Mobile Drip Irrigation; Photo © K-State Research and Extension/CC BY 2.0 11

Air Modern prairies evolved with periodic wildfires that killed off woody species and thinned old growth on nature’s timetable. Today, most of the controlled burns in the Flint Hills occur simultaneously, leaving urban centers in Kansas and neighboring states to deal with the smoke. Managing fires will become both more complex and more important in the future as the increase in atmospheric carbon leads to more woody plant species that degrade a healthy prairie. Like other states, Kansas has increased air pollution and greenhouse gases in its atmosphere. However, the plants and soils of the Great Plains also remove a large amount of pollution from the atmosphere. Effective management of our grasslands, wetlands, and other conservation areas, combined with better agricultural practices, will help clean the air and sequester greenhouse gases on a wider scale.

Windmill, Hamilton County;

Photo © Jim Griggs

SMOKE MANAGEMENT The Nature Conservancy is working with numerous partners on our preserves to find solutions to the problem of high smoke concentrations. Properly managing the scale and timing of controlled burns can improve air quality by minimizing the amount of smoke released during the burning season. Tools like patch and rotational burning also improve wildlife habitat. We are helping to create and equip new regional cooperatives to expand the scope of these practices. RENEWABLE ENERGY The Nature Conservancy of Kansas recognizes the incredible prairie winds as a logical source of wind energy. We will continue to encourage development of clean energy sources without sacrificing the intact areas that are vital to vulnerable plants and wildlife. To this end, we have helped develop the “Site Wind Right” program to determine proper placement of renewable energy projects, not only in Kansas, but across the continent.

Spring Burn, Flint Hills; Photo © Brian Obermeyer/The Nature Conservancy

ENERGY EFFICIENCY Promoting energy efficiency is a win-win for the economy and the environment because it saves consumers money, provides cleaner air, creates new jobs, and decreases atmospheric carbon. Better efficiency also lessens the need to develop new power facilities and transmission lines. We are working with our conservation partners and leveraging the strength of our membership to encourage energy efficiency legislation in Kansas.

Sunflowers, Hamilton County; Photo © Jim Griggs 13

With Your Support

Student Researchers at Konza Prairie;

Sunfish, Anderson County Stream Sampling;

Land: $10 million

Water: $3 million

• Habitat—Work with landowners and our conservation partners to permanently protect an additional 105,000 acres

• Rattlesnake Creek—Promote agricultural practices that protect water supplies and restore soil health

• Private Lands—Inspire voluntary conservation on 200,000 acres of private land through expanded outreach within priority areas

• Sustainable Rivers Project—Leverage state and national partnerships to improve the health of the Kansas River

• Shared Landscapes—Connect Conservancy initiatives in Kansas to other critical conservation projects throughout North America and the world

• Upper Blue River/conservation in Kansas City—Protect land around headwaters to filter runoff, reduce flooding, and improve water quality for downstream users • Priority Grassland Streams—Identify and preserve the state’s most pristine and vulnerable grassland streams • Cheyenne Bottoms—Expand and restore the wetland footprint at one of North America’s most crucial stopping points for migratory birds

Site Wind Right;

Bison Mother and Calf;

Air: $2 million

Emerging Opportunities: $2.5 million

• Smoke Management—Promote fire practices that improve air quality, sustain healthy grasslands, and reduce the risk of destructive wildfires • Renewable Energy—Lead ecologically sound development of renewable energy throughout the region • Energy Efficiency—Advocate for legislation that supports energy efficiency in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of Kansas

• Ensure we are ready to take immediate action as new opportunities emerge

Existing Conservation Projects • In addition to these new strategic and capital investments, we must continue to raise annual funds for our existing conservation programs.

“...Kansas glories in her days to be, In her horizons limitless and vast... Her time is ‘Now,’ Her Heritage is ‘Here.’” —— HARRY KEMP

The Nature Conservancy Kansas 2420 NW Button Road Topeka, KS 66618 785-233-4400 kansas@tnc.org

Get involved at nature.org/kansas TNCKansas nature_kansas nature_kansas

Exploring at Cheyenne Bottoms;

Cover photo: Fishing;