The efforts of a rich Texan, a Kansas governor and a former U.S. senator are intersecting in the Flint Hills.

Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is to appear today in Cottonwood Falls to discuss the transfer of ownership of about 11,000 acres of land to a Kansas trust for enhancement of the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

The preserve, north of Cottonwood Falls, was established in 1996 and includes 32 acres owned by the National Park Service and nearly 11,000 acres owned by the National Park Trust, a nonprofit group that purchases lands to protect them from development.

Kansas officials have put together a Kansas Park Trust to take over payments on the land’s mortgage, which is about $1.7 million. The Kansas Park Trust will be funded through donations; Sebelius and former U.S. Sen. Nancy Kassebaum Baker, a Republican from Kansas who was instrumental in getting the park designated, will serve on the trust.

“We’re really in the process of having the deed transferred from the National Park Trust back to a new Kansas park foundation,” Sebelius said.

She said the purpose of today’s meeting would be “to answer questions of a lot of local ranch owners and landowners, and hopefully get them involved and invested in this project.”

Kansas Secretary of Parks and Wildlife Mike Hayden said the deal also must be reviewed by Interior Secretary Gale A. Norton.

“There appear to be no obstacles,” Hayden said. “We expect the transfer to take place in the next few months.”

One of the main jobs for Sebelius in the effort will be negotiating with Texas billionaire Edward P. Bass, who has a grazing lease on the land.

Bass is a developer, rancher and conservationist. His cattle graze on the land in the spring.

“I think the governor feels she wants to open dialogue with the owner of the grazing lease,” Hayden said. “The mortgage and the current grazing lease both restrict management flexibility and particularly public access, so the idea is we want to work toward the long-term improvement of public access.”

Initial conversations with Bass have been pleasant, Hayden said. “He’s been very cordial,” he said.

Bass could not be reached for comment.

The public generally has access to two hiking trails, a historical ranch house and a one-room schoolhouse on the National Park Service property.

A master plan for the park calls for putting in bison, building a visitor’s center and extending hiking trails. Even with transfer of ownership, the park still would be managed by the National Park Service.