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 refuges efforts to acquire and preserve additional land,said Harkin.  If the refuge doesnt 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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