OERB project to restore Tallgrass Prairie Preserve

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board is planning a restoration project on 13 acres in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County.<br/><br/>OERB Director Mike Terry says the agency

Wednesday, July 13th 2005, 10:29 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board is planning a restoration project on 13 acres in the Tallgrass Prairie Preserve in Osage County.

OERB Director Mike Terry says the agency will work with the Osage Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs to restore hundreds of areas damaged by oil production.

The preserve is owned by the Nature Conservancy and includes 38,000 acres from northern Oklahoma through central Kansas. Tallgrass once dominated the plains in the western US and was prime grazing ground for buffalo but the preserve is the largest portion remaining in the country.

The OERB was created by the state Legislature in 1993 and is funded with an assessment on oil and natural gas producers and on royalty owners. It has cleaned up more than 6,000 abandoned oil and gas wells since 1995.