KINSLEY ? In what could be its biggest land deal since development of the Cheyenne Bottoms a half-century ago, the state is considering the purchase of a 7,000-acre ranch in Edwards County.

The move is designed to stabilize groundwater levels in the area and help the Arkansas River flow again from Kinsley to Great Bend.

The Circle K ranch, located near Kinsley on the banks of the Arkansas River, is at the center of a tug-of-war involving water, rural economy and recreation.

Owned by the cities of Hays and Russell, which have offered it for sale to the state, the ranch has 57 irrigation wells — most of them within a mile and a quarter from the Arkansas River.

Kansas wants to buy the ranch and shut down its wells, turning that land over for recreational uses such as hunting, birding and hiking. Some of the land would be leased for seasonal grazing and some for production agriculture.

A public hearing on the possible purchase is planned at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Edwards County Fairgrounds Building in Kinsley.

“For several years, we’ve been trying to develop a strategy for helping the river recover,” said Joe Harkins, director of the Kansas Water Office. “This is an opportunity to relieve the pain for everybody, to support the development of wildlife and maintain some agricultural uses.”

An appraisal is pending. If the land is used for outdoor recreation, the state would be eligible for up to 75 percent reimbursement from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Mike Hayden, former Kansas governor and now secretary of the state’s Wildlife and Parks Department, said the project could benefit Kansas, which has the smallest percentage of public lands in the nation.

“The impact that this could have on tourism could be significant. One of the reasons is people have no access to land when they come here,” Hayden said. “They go to other western states, the Rocky Mountains — anywhere else where there are all kinds of public rivers and parks.”

But Kinsley Mayor Mike Herrmann is concerned about what the purchase will do for the local economy.

“Right now, the economy is pretty stagnant. We rely on farming a lot. This is one of the bigger farms in Edwards County, and we could potentially lose a lot of personnel and hurt our tax base,” Herrmann said. “It seems like everything with this is on the fast track, and I’d like to see more options investigated.”

Hays purchased the property for $4.2 million in 1995, and Russell later purchased an 18 percent share. The cities initially bought the land for its water, but are now looking to the Kanopolis or Wilson reservoirs as an economical alternative for municipal water needs.