This website serves Farmers and Ranchers in the Kansas AgriTourism Industry.
For family outings, go to http://www.travelks.com

Welcome to Kansas AgriTourism!

This website has been developed specifically for Kansas farmers and ranchers involved in AgriTourism, rural properties where the traveler has an opportunity to experience farm and country life far from the hustle of the city.
The site is a project of the Kansas Agritourism Advisory Council, working in cooperation with:
the Kansas Agriculture Marketing Division and the Travel and Tourism Division of the Department of Commerce
and with financial assistance from Frontier Farm Credit.
We invite you to explore this website to find a variety of articles and resources that will help you succeed in agritourism.
If you have any questions, please contact the Department of Commerce, Travel and Tourism Division, and ask for the Agritourism Liaison.
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NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

July 27, 2005

Senate passes Bleeding Kansas National Heritage Area legislation

Lawrence, Kan. -Enacting bill S175, to establish a Bleeding Kansas National Heritage Area, is included in S.203 passed by the United States Senate yesterday. The bill was sponsored by Kansas Senators Brownback and Roberts.

Volunteers from 26 counties in Eastern Kansas that were impacted by the conflict over whether Kansas would be Free or Slave have been working together for more than two years to establish a national heritage area. Work will continue to pass HR 413 to complete the official designation.

A Heritage Area is both a place and concept. Physically, it is a geographic region marked by a concentration of important historic, cultural, natural and recreational resources, united by important shared stories. Conceptually, a heritage area combines education and conservation of resources with economic development often in the form of tourism. Communities across America, working in partnership with property owners, local governments, state and federal agencies, and business and non-profit institutions, have developed heritage areas with the goal of creating more economically viable regions.

Bleeding Kansas and the Enduring Struggle for Freedom was chosen as a theme for the area because of the unique connection to American history that this story represents. Designation as a National Heritage Area lends credibility to the importance of the region's shared story and allows an area to leverage funding and other resources to better interpret the strong connections between the people who came to settle Kansas Territory and the people who live on this land today.

The Senate passed both the National Heritage Partnership Act S243 and S203 to establish nine new national heritage areas, study two new heritage areas and reauthorize under new management the Illinois and Michigan Canal Heritage Corridor. The complete text of these bills may be found at http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=s109-203.

Kansas Counties included in the legislation are Allen, Anderson, Atchison, Bourbon, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Clay, Coffey, Crawford, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Jackson, Johnson, Labette, Leavenworth, Linn, Miami, Neosho, Pottawatomie, Riley, Shawnee, Wabaunsee, Wilson, Woodson and Wyandotte. Potential Missouri counties may include Jasper, Barton, Vernon, Bates, Cass, Jackson, Ray, Clay, Platte, Buchanan, Lafayette and Johnson.

For more information, contact: Judy Billings, Chair, Bleeding Kansas Heritage Area Planning Committee,Director, Lawrence Convention & Visitors Bureau, 785.865.4494 director@visitlawrence.com