Congress finds that—

(1) of the 400,000 square miles of tallgrass prairie that once covered the North American Continent, less than 1 percent remains, primarily in the Flint Hills of Kansas;

(2) in 1991, the National Park Service conducted a special resource study of the Spring Hill Ranch, located in the Flint Hills of Kansas;

the study concludes that the Spring Hill Ranch—

(A) is a nationally significant example of the once vast tallgrass ecosystem, and includes buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places pursuant to section 101 of the National Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470a) [1] that represent outstanding examples of Second Empire and other 19th Century architectural styles; and

(B) is suitable and feasible as a potential addition to the National Park System; and

the National Park Trust, which owns the Spring Hill Ranch, has agreed to permit the National Park Service—

(A) to acquire a portion of the ranch, as specified in sections 698u to 698u–7 of this title; and

(B) to manage the ranch in order to— (i) conserve the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife of the ranch; and (ii) provide for the enjoyment of the ranch in such a manner and by such means as will leave the scenery, natural and historic objects, and wildlife unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

The purposes of sections 698u to 698u–7 of this title are—

(1) to preserve, protect, and interpret for the public an example of a tallgrass prairie ecosystem on the Spring Hill Ranch, located in the Flint Hills of Kansas; and

(2) to preserve and interpret for the public the historic and cultural values represented on the Spring Hill Ranch.

(Pub. L. 104–333, div. I, title X, § 1002, Nov. 12, 1996, 110 Stat. 4204; Pub. L. 106–176, title I, § 122(1), Mar. 10, 2000, 114 Stat. 29.)