The Kansas Land Trust has purchased the first conservation easement in Kansas to be partly funded by state dollars. The easement will preserve 500 acres of tallgrass prairie in the Flint Hills.

A signing ceremony and dedication is planned from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday at the RK Cattle Co. in Morris County. Activities will include a traditional chuckwagon meal, music and demonstrations of ranching practices by the landowners, Kent and Rose Bacon, who also will be honored for contributing to the voluntary program.

The prairie includes grass-covered highlands with a creek and riparian woodlands in the lowland.

The public is invited, but reservations are required. The meal costs $15 per person.

The trust was able to purchase the conservation easement using funding from the federal Farm and Ranch Lands Protection Program and the state.