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Bill would let Audubon of Kansas transfer Mount Mitchell prairie to local nonprofit; Historical Society seeks protective easement
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Summary
Supporters told lawmakers Audubon of Kansas and the Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards have stewarded and expanded the site for two decades; the Kansas State Historical Society backed the transfer but requested a protective easement for the original 30 acres before transfer.
A bill that would allow Audubon of Kansas to convey a historically significant prairie property to a local nonprofit drew unanimous proponent testimony at a Senate committee hearing, with the Kansas State Historical Society asking that a protective easement be donated before any deed transfer.
Senate Bill 473 would remove language that now bars Audubon of Kansas from conveying the property and would instead affirmatively authorize such a conveyance, with deeds subject to review and approval by the State Historical Society, the reviser told the Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee.
Bruce Waugh, a board member of the Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards, told the committee that the site includes a 30-acre hilltop donated to the state decades ago that has ties to Captain William Mitchell and the Underground Railroad. Over the last 20 years, Waugh said, the volunteer Prairie Guards have expanded parkland to roughly 160 acres, built trails and facilities, raised more than $1,000,000 in private funds and organized thousands of volunteer hours to restore tallgrass prairie habitat.
"We became [a nonprofit] in 2009," Waugh said of the Prairie Guards, explaining they now seek to unite the original 30-acre deed with the rest of the park as long-term stewardship transitions to a new generation.
Jacqueline (Jackie) Augustine, executive director of Audubon of Kansas, testified the organization supports the transfer and will remain a conservation partner on the property; she also clarified Audubon of Kansas is not affiliated with National Audubon.
Patrick Zollner, executive director of the Kansas State Historical Society, said the Historical Society supports the bill's intent but asked that a protective easement be donated to the Historical Society before any conveyance so the original 30 acres are protected for decades to come.
No opponents or neutral witnesses appeared; the committee closed the hearing on SB 473 and said it would lay the bill over for further work.
