FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Allison Dobson/Maureen Knightly

July 9,
2003

  202.224.3254



HARKIN ANNOUNCES BOOST FOR NORTHERN TALLGRASS PRAIRIE NATIONAL WILDLIFE
REFUGE



WASHINGTON, D.C. - Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) announced today that
$470,000 in funding for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie National Wildlife
Refuge has been included in the Interior Appropriations bill.  The bill
will go through the full Appropriations committee on Thursday and is
expected to be voted on in the Senate later this month.  Harkin, who
pushed for this funding, is a senior member of the Senate Appropriations
Committee.



"These funds are critical to the refuge's efforts to acquire and
preserve additional land," said Harkin.  "If the refuge doesn't purchase
the land soon, other buyers may take over the land for purposes that
could be harmful to the environment."



The funds will be used to buy land in Western Minnesota and Northwest
Iowa to preserve native prairie land.  Tallgrass prairie used to cover
25 million acres in Minnesota and Iowa, but is now considered one of the
most endangered ecosystems in North America. Although it is home to a
number of endangered plant and wildlife species, only about one percent
of the natural North American Prairie remains.  The goal of this funding
is to preserve 25% of the remaining prairie through permanent
conservation easements. Four species of plants and seven species of
animal whose natural habitat is in this area are listed as endangered or
threatened, including the Powesheik Skipperling and the Piping Plover.





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