The Cimarron National Grassland Park, north of Elkhart, Kan., shown June 1, 2002, has fishing ponds, hiking trails, a surprising variety of prairie wildlife and the remnants of pioneer history from the wagon-train days. The grasslands also has the largest parcel of the Santa Fe Trail 23 miles on public land, all open to the public.
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TRAVIS MORISSE / Associated Press
A prickly pear cactus blooms with a vibrant yellow flower in the Cimarron National Grasslands north of Elkhart, Kan., June 1, 2002. The grasslands stretch across 108,175 acres in Morton and Stevens Counties in southwest Kansas.
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TRAVIS MORISSE / Associated Press
Cheyenne Bottoms has long been considered one of the world's premier wetlands. GPS Ranger tours now lead and educate visitors as they drive through the area.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
A black-tailed prairie dog peers out of its burrow at a prairie dog town in Dodge City, Kan. Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007.
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Charlie Riedel / Associated Press
Two endangered whooping cranes wade the shallow at Quivira, feeding on dead carp as the sun prepares to set.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Prairie dogs stand at attention as they watch the activities around their town on the Smoky Valley Ranch located near Russell Springs, Kan., in this May, 2000 file photo.
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STEVEN HAUSLER / Associated Press
A traveller driving along Scenic Highway 177 might be blessed with a prairie panorama such as this.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
The Smoky Hills that surround Wilson State Park provide some of the prettiest views in Kansas.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
The Smoky Hills that surround Wilson State Park provide some of the prettiest views in Kansas.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
The Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve near Cottonwood Falls is a pristine example of native Kansas prairie. (Nov. 3, 2010)
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
A grasshopper sits on a stalk of grass in the Konza Prairie near Manhattan. The prairie, established in 1986.
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Travis Heying / The Wichita Eagle
Cattle graze in the Cimarron National Grassland near Elkhart, Kan., Wednesday, June 19, 2002.
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ORLIN WAGNER / Associated Press
An old one-room schoolhouse sits atop a hill on the Z-Bar Ranch near Strong City, Kansas. The nearly 11,000-acre ranch became Prairie National Park in 1996.
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Bo Rader / The Wichita Eagle
Point of Rocks for Cimarron National Grassland.
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U.S. Forest Service
Forest Serv / Courtesy Photo
Sumac leaves and prairie grasses on the National Prairie Preserve near Strong City.
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Bo Rader / The Wichita Eagle
Two male greater prairie chickens hop into the air while disputing their territory.
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Bo Rader / The Wichita Eagle
A view of the Flint Hills at the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Chase County, Thursday, Apr. 1, 2010.
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Mike Hutmacher / The Wichita Eagle
A view of the Chase County Flint Hills about two weeks after being burned.
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Michael Pearce / The Wichita Eagle
Scenes from the last, long cattle drive through the Flint Hills, November 5, 2010.
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Beccy Tanner / The Wichita Eagle
Scenes from the last, long cattle drive through the Flint Hills, November 5, 2010.
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Beccy Tanner / The Wichita Eagle
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