Grasslands make up more than 15 million acres of the agricultural land in Kansas, and those grasslands serve a critical role as grazing land for the beef cattle industry, along with other uses and values in communities across the state. Several organizations and many individuals have engaged in active efforts to bring attention to the importance of grasslands. 

In the fall of 2025, the Kansas Department of Agriculture and the Kansas Association of Conservation Districts, with the support of the Natural Resources Conservation Service, embarked on a joint project to determine immediate next steps to take to encourage and support enhanced conservation of private working grasslands in Kansas. The project will result in a report that will be communicated out to stakeholders, the public, and legislators in early 2026. 

The report will include information to help educate a broad audience about the importance of working grasslands, as well as action steps that could be taken to improve and conserve working grasslands for future generations. 

Resources and materials developed through this process will be shared here, as well as the final report upon its completion. 

For more information about the Kansas Grasslands project, contact Project Manager Sarah Green at sarah@prairiemeadowlark.com. 

Map of Kansas Grasslands
Map of Central Plains Grassland Area
Map of Flint Hills Grassland Area
Map of Gypsum Hills Grassland Area
Map of Smoky Hills Grassland Area

Increasing severity of woody encroachment 1990-2021

Some of the groups and initiatives working in Kansas:

Kansas Association of Conservation Districts

U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service

Kansas Grazing Lands Coalition

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer