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The Plains Conservation Center is an outdoor education facility and state-designated natural area in Aurora, Colorado. Its mission is to preserve Colorado's prairies, educate children about Colorado's eco-history, and nurture conservation efforts. The center comprises two sites totaling approximately of land. The main site is located on in Aurora and the second site is south of Strasburg on bisected by West Bijou Creek. The center is in part funded by the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District, and is a non-profit organization. ==History== The land that is currently part of the Aurora site was once part of the railroad. The city of Denver bought the land in 1933, and the land later became federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management. An education center was established in 1949, and in 1969 a group of sod structures were built.〔("Looking in on a plains homestead, just southeast of Denver. (Plains Conservation Center, Aurora, Colorado)" ), ''Sunset'', May 1, 1990 .〕〔Betsy Lehndorff, ("Sod Homes Blend Into Prairie" ), ''Rocky Mountain News'', October 20, 2001 .〕 In 1997 the West Arapahoe Conservation District sold 1,100 acres to the City of Aurora; about 500 additional acres were sold for private development,〔("Aurora Zoning Hearing Tonight" ), ''Rocky Mountain News'', January 8, 1997.〕 with revenue from the private sale used to buy the West Bijou Creek site in Strasburg.〔("The PCC Story" ) at Plains Conservation Center official website (accessed 2012-01-13).〕 The West Bijou site has been identified as an important site for the study of the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs;〔Ann Schrader, ("Denver team close to solving geologic puzzle" ), ''The Denver Post'', November 28, 2000.〕 one source calls it "the most complete single K-T boundary section found in nonmarine rocks".〔Douglas J. Nichols, Kirk R. Johnson, ''Plants and the K-T Boundary'' (Cambridge University Press, 2008), ISBN 978-0521835756, pp. 123ff. (Excerpts available ) at Google Books.〕 An expansion of the site under the auspices of the Trust for Public Land, along with the addition of a conservation easement to protect the entire property from development, was announced in December 2012.〔("Dinosaur Ranch Protected" ), Trust for Public Land, December 19, 2012.〕 The integrity of the West Bijou site has also been protected by the addition of a conservation easement on adjoining ranch land.〔Joey Bunch, ("Keeping a hand on the land: Hasenbalg family of Arapahoe County uses easement as buffer against growth" ), ''The Denver Post'', July 4, 2007.〕 A feature of the site is a herd of wild pronghorn. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Plains Conservation Center」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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