Flint Hills — A Unique Area


In the excerpts, linked above, from separate oral history interviews of two former Kansas Governors, you hear how a unique approach was implemented to prevent windfarm development in a portion of the Flint Hills. As told by former Governor Kathleen Sebelius, interest in protecting the area from development was sparked when two members of Congress from Kansas became involved in an effort to preserve a section of tallgrass prairie at about the same that time windfarm development was taking off in Kansas. Governor Sebelius adopted the initial policy with a moratorium on windfarm development in a section of the Flint Hills in 2004, followed in 2005 by creation of development standards, allocation of funds, and spread of community support for protection of the area. As described in his oral history interview, Governor Brownback expanded the original area and renewed the protection. In 2020 Governor Laura Kelly continued the protection of the “Tallgrass Heartland.”
Questions to explore
- What characteristics differentiate the physiographic regions of Kansas?
- What are the characteristics of the tallgrass prairie that make it important to preserve?
- Where did the tallgrass prairie ecosystem exist in Kansas outside the Flint Hills?
- What human activities help maintain the tallgrass prairie ecosystem?
- What makes the Flint Hills both a physiographic (physical geography) and a cultural region (human geography)?
- What counties, towns, major rivers, and reservoirs are in the Flint Hills?
- What counties, towns, rivers, and reservoirs are in the ‘moritorium’ area?
- How many people live in the ‘moritorium; area and what is their major source of income?
- What energy resources, in addition to wind, are found in the Flint Hills?
Additional Resources
- The Nature Conservancy was involved in preserving the area now known as the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.
- Jim Hoy, a member of the KOHP Board of Directors, and lifelong resident of the Flint Hills, provides insight into one reason for the region’s uniqueness in this interview and in his book, Gathering Strays: Stories from Kansas and the Southwestern Plains.
- Armstrong, Grant, Beatty, B., & Dickinson, A (eds.) (2022). “You Can Get a Hell of al Lot Done As Governor”: A conversation with Former Governor Mark Parkinson. Kansas History: A Journal of the Central Plains 45(1), Spring 2022, 40-61.
- Buchanan, Rex (2014). “Oil in the Flint Hills,” Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal, 11-15.
- Obermeyer, Brian (2014). “Sustainable Prairie,” Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal, 3-9.
- Stover, Susan (2014). “Kansas, the Flint Hills, and Water,” Symphony in the Flint Hills Field Journal, 17-21.
The full interviews of governors Sebelius and Brownback are on this site, Interview of Kathleen Sebelius, October 28, 2022 and Interview of Sam Brownback, December 2, 2024. Both interviews were conducted by Rex Buchanan
The Flint Hills form one of 11 physiographic regions in Kansas. The combination of topography, climate, and human activity have made part of the region one of the last remaining expanses of tallgrass prairie in the world. In excerpts from separate oral history interviews of two former Kansas Governors, you hear how a unique approach was implemented to prevent windfarm development in a portion of the Flint Hills to protect the tallgrass prairie. Governor Sebelius adopted the initial policy with a moratorium on windfarm development in a section of the Flint Hills in 2004. As described in his oral history interview, Governor Brownback expanded the original area and renewed the protection. In 2020 Governor Laura Kelly continued the protection of the "Tallgrass Heartland."