Furthermore, this National Park unit that was owned totally by YOUR National Park Trust has been transferred to the new Kansas Park Trust.

Here is a brief history of what YOU made possible:

1. During the 20th Century, there were some 20 studies and nine legislative acts seeking to protect the unique American ecosystem, the tallgrass prairie.

2. In 1994, your NPT purchased the 11,000 acre Spring Hill Ranch in Chase County, Kansas, which was identified in 1991 by the National Park Service as meriting inclusion in the National Park System.

3. In 1996, federal legislation established the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve but only authorized the National Park Service to own up to 180 acres (NPT had to donate this).

4. From l994 to 2005, NPT has owned "lock, stock and barel" a national park unit, paying the taxes, supporting the local fire department and all the things a private property owner would do.

5. In 2003, NPT began assessing how we could transfer the park to another charity and continue the park as part of the National Park System.

6. In 2004, we helped the Governor of Kansas establish the Kansas Park Trust which assumed ownership of the park in February of this year.