GRAND FORKS (AP) - A family here is donating 160 acres of land to the state for a wildlife management area.

Richard and Glinda Crawford and their daughter, Melanie, are giving the quarter section to the state Game and Fish Department. The land is located near Emerado and represents one of the few remaining tracts of tallgrass prairie habitat in Grand Forks County.

The family has owned the land since 1999.

The Crawfords are longtime professors at the University of North Dakota. Richard Crawford, a biology professor, is retiring in May after 32 years. Glinda Crawford taught at UND for 30 years and is a Professor Emerita of Sociology and Interdisciplinary Ecological Studies. Melanie Crawford grew up in Grand Forks and taught fifth grade for seven years at Grand Forks Air Force Base.

Richard and Glinda Crawford are returning to their home state of Missouri next month. The land will be dedicated then.

"We've lived here for 32 years and enjoyed almost every minute," Crawford said. "North Dakotans have given us a lot. We simply want to leave a legacy for the state and for the people when we leave."

Randy Kreil, wildlife chief for the state Game and Fish Department, said Gov. John Hoeven already has approved the donation, as required by state law.

The property will be known as the Crawford Oakville Prairie Wildlife Management Area, Kreil said.

Kreil said the area has largely avoided cultivation because of its high alkaline content and poorly drained soils. The rare prairie land there provides habitat for a variety of wildlife, including waterfowl, deer, prairie grouse and grassland songbirds, he said.

"It's pretty special," Kreil said.

Richard Crawford said the family didn't consider offering the land to anyone other than the state.

"We wanted to make sure it was open for public use," he said. "We wanted to have an area out there people could go to and enjoy the prairie."

The North Dakota Game and Fish Department has about 200,000 acres of land in its Wildlife Management Area system.