Dunn Ranch Conservation Area

ConocoPhillips, in partnership with the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, has awarded $200,000 to the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation to benefit the Dunn Ranch Bird Conservation Area project in northwestern Missouri. The region of tallgrass prairie has been identified as one of the most important sites in the state for a variety of declining grassland bird species, including the Greater Prairie-Chicken, Henslow's Sparrow, Short-eared Owl, Dickcissel and Grasshopper Sparrow.

The project, targeted to cover 19,500 acres, is the first Partners in Flight Conservation Area to be implemented in the United States. Such areas are sites that provide habitat for large populations of key species. In addition to land acquisition, the project involves removing woody vegetation from grasslands, converting fescue to more diverse cover of native grasses, reducing stocking rates and delaying the hay harvests – all carried out with permission of area private landowners.