As of 2009, the high plains population continued to decline, local economies continued to shrink, and the region's major water resource, the Ogallala Aquifer, had shrunk more quickly than had been expected. Public perceptions of the concept of the Buffalo Commons have begun to change. In November 2009 "The Kansas City Star" published an editorial that claimed the aquifer was almost depleted and noted the biggest asset of the high plains was its prairie. It supported the creation of a million-acre (4,000 km²) Buffalo Commons National Park in western Kansas. The editorial suggested such a park could satisfy several goals: