Hutchinson ? State and local officials said they may now team up in trying to buy the Circle K ranch in Edwards County.

Sharon Falk, manager of the Big Bend Groundwater Management District No. 5, said her group understands the challenges facing state officials in finding funding and is willing to help.

“The Legislature might be more receptive if the district was involved — local people helping make the decisions,” Falk said.

Both entities want to buy the 7,000-acre property and retire its water rights.

The ranch has 57 irrigation wells with most of them about a mile from the Arkansas River. The state and the groundwater management district want to shut down those wells to stabilize groundwater levels in the area and help the Arkansas River flow again from Kinsley to Great Bend.

A panel of property appraisers hired by the state valued the ranch last month at $3.2 million. But the city of Hays, which bought the land in 1995 for $4.2 million, isn’t willing to sell it that cheap.

Hays bought the land with the city of Russell to use groundwater on the site for city use.

“We haven’t discussed a price,” said Hays City Manager Randy Gustafson. “It is extremely unlikely we will settle for the appraised value.”

Officials with the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks had hoped to recoup some of the purchase with federal funds from taxes on firearms and ammunition, provided the ranch was used for hunting.

But if the state pays more than the appraised value, that money may be unavailable, said Susan Stover, an environmental scientist with the Kansas Water Office.

The Upper and Lower Arkansas Basin Advisory committees will meet in July and August to debate and make a final recommendation to the Kansas Water Authority to set aside money for the purchase.