In what is being called the largest northern tallgrass prairie restoration in history, the Minnesota Chapter of the Nature Conservancy has purchased 25,000 acres near Crookston.

"The Glacial Ridge property represents an unequalled opportunity to conserve and restore a unique landscape," said Rob McKim, state director and vice president of the Conservancy, based in Minneapolis.

The land is home to a diversity of species from moose to butterflies, and harbors several prairie-dependent plants, including the threatened western prairie fringed orchid, and dozens of waterfowl and upland birds like the sandhill crane.

It is hoped that the property may become part of a national wildlife refuge within the decade.