Plains Conservation Center in Aurora, Colorado, preserves about one thousand acres of shortgrass prairie while presenting the human history of the plains through reconstructed settings. The land passed from railroad holdings to Denver in 1933, later became federal land under the Bureau of Land Management, and gained an education center in 1949. Sod structures built in 1969 helped define its interpretive role. In 1997, the City of Aurora acquired one thousand one hundred acres from the West Arapahoe Conservation District, while proceeds from other land sales supported acquisition of the West Bijou Creek site in Strasburg. Today the site offers replica homestead and tipi camp settings, seasonal events, and educational programs.