Youngmeyer Field Station / Hutton

Tallgrass prairie once covered over 150 million acres of North America. Today, less than 4% of this unique ecosystem remains, with the majority being in the Kansas Flint Hills. The subsurface of the Flint Hills was formed over 250 million years ago and is composed primarily of distinct layers of limestone and shale. Shallow, rocky soils made the land mostly unsuitable for farming and challenging for development, effectively preserving the natural state of the tallgrass ecosystem, its unique wildlife, and its characteristic expansive, rolling views in perpetuity.