Conservation group seeks money to purchase Mo. prairie near Kansas City

HARRISONVILLE, Mo. -- A conservation group is raising money to pay for an unplowed stretch of native prairie on the outskirts of Kansas City.

The Snowball Hill Prairie was placed in conservation protection after it was acquired in June through effort of the Missouri Prairie Foundation and the Platte County Land Trust. Now the foundation is trying to pay of a $273,000 loan that was used to purchase the 74-acre tract that includes the native prairieland. Fundraising events are planned for next week and in November.

The foundation owns more than 3,000 acres of prairie in 19 tracts across the state. It says many plant species restricted to original prairie have already been identified on the newly acquired property near the Cass County community of Harrisonville.