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Washington State Park Hosts Sips, Stars and Meteors program, Aug. 11-13

Washington State Park invites guests to a special overnight camping opportunity to view the Perseids meteor shower under a dark sky Friday, Aug. 11, and Saturday, Aug. 12. For this overnight meteor shower viewing, guests will camp out in the park’s Big River Day-Use Area near Shelter No. 2.

Beginning at 7 p.m. Aug. 11, special guest storyteller Flavia Everman will entertain guests around the campfire. This portion of the event is open both to registered overnight guests and the general public. Flavia’s program is brought to Missouri State Parks courtesy of the Missouri Arts Council.

On Aug. 12, multiple activities will be offered throughout the day leading up to the meteor shower viewing that night. Join Washington State Park staff at 4 p.m. for a tour of the petroglyphs, the park’s history carved in stone. Learn about the Mississippian-era carvings, the culture and community who created them, and possible interpretations of what they mean. Enjoy a short stroll on a covered walkway with interpretive panels highlighting the cultural features.

Then, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., park interpretive staff will present meteor-themed activities. Meanwhile, Edg-Clif Vineyard of Potosi and Fyre Lake Winery of Cadet will provide limited free sampling to adults 21 and older.

Advance registration is required to attend this event and there is a nonrefundable $10 registration fee. Each registration secures a spot for up to six people. To register, CLICK HERE. Or visit icampmo.usedirect.com/MSPWeb/Activities/Search.aspx and search for events at Washington State Park or call the park office at 636-586-5768.

No individual campfires, RVs or generators will be allowed at this tent camping event. The event area’s amenities include pit latrine restrooms, potable water and a group fire pit. There are no flush toilets or electrical services. Check-out is 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 13.

Washington State Park is located at 13041 State Highway 104 in De Soto. For more information, contact the park at 636-586-5768.

For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

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Posted on August 7, 2023 in Home, Local Events

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St. Louis: Atomic City: Radioactive Legacy Continues To Haunt North County Moms Group

Pictured above: Dawn Chapman (Left) and Karen Nickel, co-founders of Just Moms STL.

By Don Corrigan

St. Louis residents have joined the rest of the nation in flocking to see the blockbuster, “Oppenheimer,” a movie about the making of the atomic bomb. Radioactive fallout from the new bomb descended over an area 250 miles by 200 miles in New Mexico.

The movie about the first atomic bomb brought renewed attention to Southwest U.S. residents downwind from the blast. Many are members of the Tularosa Basin Downwinders Consortium, a group that feels they were poisoned by the explosion.

You don’t have to have seen the bright light, and felt the incredible rumble, however, to feel you have been affected by the bomb and the program for America’s nuclear arsenal. Just ask members of St. Louis County’s “Just Moms St. Louis.”

The Moms group has been fighting for the cleanup of radioactive waste in streams, creek beds, dumps and landfills near their homes. The huge amounts of waste are from the uranium processing that was necessary for making the bomb – and which was processed in St. Louis.

Instead of disposing of the waste in a responsible manner, chemical companies used careless contractors that dumped tons of radioactive waste throughout St. Louis County. Two radioactive dumping areas, which St. Louisans are familiar with from news coverage, are West Lake landfill and Coldwater Creek.

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Posted on July 31, 2023 in Environment, Home

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Missouri Wine Country: Beauty Worth Protecting

Pictured: Dan Burkhardt

by Dan Burkhardt

Missouri Wine Country is getting noticed. Its grapes and wineries have made more news in the past two years than when a state wine was named “best red wine of all nations” in Vienna in the late1800s. With growing prestige, it may be time for Missouri Wine Country to learn a thing or two from Napa Valley.

America’s, and probably the world’s, best known wine destination is Napa Valley. Napa’s Mediterranean climate, scattered small towns, and location just a short drive from San Francisco make for a grape-growing mecca.

However as they looked at their future way back in the 1960s, Napa County leaders saw this list of remarkable advantages as something that also held the potential to destroy the natural beauty and rural ambience that was the area’s greatest asset. They realized the need to develop a plan to protect what people came to Napa for — the rustic and open feel of the valley itself. They established the Napa Valley Agricultural Preserve.

A recent article about Napa asked, “What really draws people to the Napa Valley?”

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Posted on July 30, 2023 in Environment, Home, Opinion, Outdoor/Nature

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Rock Island Trail State Park: Missourians Get Their 93rd State Park That’s 47.5 Miles Long

All photos courtesy Bruce Sassmann.

By Don Corrigan

Missourians got their 93rd State Park, which is a total of 47.5 miles long, when mayors, state officials and citizen supporters had an unveiling and a little speech-making on June 30 in Windsor, Mo.

Among those in attendance was Rep. Bruce Sassmann, R-Belle, who has been
advocating for the park to extend 144 miles across the state. It would rival the Katy Trail State Park as a wonderful route for hikers, bikers, sight-seers and outdoor enthusiasts.

Sassmann advocates for the completion of the Rock Island Trail State Park and will frequently show photos of the corridor and the amazing sights and scenes that will be available when funding becomes available to complete the corridor’s entire length. Some of those visuals are posted with this article.

With completion of the Rock Island Trail State Park, the corridor will likely have
trailheads at Windsor, Ionia, Cole Camp, Stover, Versailles, Barnett, Eldon, Eugene Meta Argyle Freeburg Belle Bland Owensville Rosebud Gerald Beaufort and Union.

The open section now runs 47.5 miles from Pleasant Hill to Windsor. There are five trailheads, including the trailhead at Windsor that the park shares with Katy Trail State Park.

This developed section was originally considered the Rock Island Spur of Katy Trail State Park. With the acquisition of the Rock Island Railroad corridor, the developed spur became part of Rock Island Trail State Park.

Rock Island Trail State Park is part of a larger rail-to-trail system within Missouri State Parks. At Windsor, Rock Island Trail State Park connects to Katy Trail State Park, the nation’s longest developed rail-trail stretching 240 miles between Clinton and Machens in St. Charles County.

Katy is built on the former corridor of the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad (MKT or Katy) and features 26 trailheads and four fully restored depots along the way. The trail is open to walkers, hikers and bicyclists with sections also open for equestrian use. Katy Trail State Park annually attracts more than 400,000 visitors.

Rock Island Trail State Park will connect to Jackson County’s Rock Island Trail and will become part of a trail network spanning the entire state of Missouri, linking Kansas City to St. Louis.

At the recent unveiling of Missouri’s 93rd State Park, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources released some fascinating factoids about the corridor:

Did you know…

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Posted on July 15, 2023 in Environment, Home, Outdoor/Nature

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Sunflower’s Are Back at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area Despite Drought

Photo courtesy of the MDC.

Missouri is starting off summer in droughty conditions.  Sunflower fans will be pleased to know that Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) biologists still expect the sunflowers planted at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area in Spanish Lake to put on a show this year.   MDC staff has continued to plant multiple sunflower plots again this season.

Though the extremely dry conditions can put a lot of stress on plants and wildlife, MDC staff believe we’ll still see a good amount of blooming in the sunflower fields.  If the plants are especially stressed, the flowers may be somewhat smaller than previous years, and they might shift their blooming a little earlier and end a bit sooner.  But there should still be plenty to see for sunflower enthusiasts and photographers.

Showy sunflower fields have been an annual tradition at Columbia Bottom Conservation Area.  MDC staff have been planting sunflowers for years as part of their management for mourning doves.  The area is known for dove hunting each September.  The large flowers supply seeds that entice the birds, and their lofty stalks create cover for the hunters who pursue them.  Sunflowers also benefit a wide variety of other birds and pollinators.  They lure plenty of photographers, too.

MDC work crews began planting additional sunflower stands in addition to the regular dove management fields again a few years ago.  These viewing fields are easily spotted from the road and intended to provide convenient access for taking photos.  MDC crews also stagger the timing of the plantings to spread their blooming periods out over a longer period.  Visitors should be able to see sunflowers in bloom somewhere on the area from early July through the middle of August—depending on weather conditions.

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Posted on July 9, 2023 in Home, Local Events, Outdoor/Nature

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Outdoor Writing Workshop: Press Club Joins Up With MoBOT For Nature Inspiration

Press Club members pause in the English Woodland Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden to collect their thoughts before composing prose at a nature writing workshop. Photo by Jessica Brown.

by Don Corrigan

You don’t have to go to David Thoreau’s Walden Pond or Joan Didion’s Tinker Creek to get some outdoor inspiration for writing prose and poetry. The Missouri Botanical Garden has some perfect spots, some quieter than others, for inspiration.

Michaella Thornton and Sean Dougherty give nature writers some instructions and encouragement before a June 10 creative writing workshop at the Missouri Botanical Garden. Photo by Jessica Brown.

Earlier this month, St. Louis Press Club members were hosted by the Missouri Botanical Garden to take a nature writing tour led by Sean Dougherty and Michaella Thornton.

Doherty is vice president for education for MoBOT and Thornton is an award-winning educator whose work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, best of the Net and Best Microfiction.

The educational tour was designed to acquaint participants with special park locations, to build nature vocabularies, and to provide background on the natural world and local landscapes.

Participants were invited to bring their electronic tablets or pens and notebooks. There was plenty of space and time allotted for some short writing exercises.

Among the park sites visited:

– The Victorian District, which includes statues and the home of Henry Shaw.

– The English Woodland Garden, with tall, leafy trees shading a hot sun.

– The Japanese Garden, with its soothing waters gurgling away.

At the Victorian District, Thornton read from Aimee Nezhukumatathil’s Calendar Poetica, including this excerpt: “My writing instrument is a Sheaffler fountain pen with a #304 nib. Everything else in my life is chaos: I am, of course, sleep-deprived, and the edges of my garden start to blur and shimmer as if near a gas flame  … ”

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Posted on June 29, 2023 in Home, Outdoor/Nature

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Seed St. Louis Receives $60,000 Grant From The Bayer Fund To Help Improve Food Access and Community Health

Seed St. Louis announced today it received a grant for $60,000 from Bayer Fund, a philanthropic arm of Bayer in the U.S. In line with Bayer’s vision of health for all, hunger for none, this grant will be used towards building a better future by providing community groups in St. Louis City and St. Louis County with the education, resources, and a network to grow their own food. Having access to healthy, safe, and affordable food is crucial; the lack of access to foods that support healthy diets has a direct link to negative health outcomes.

“Seed St. Louis greatly appreciates the support from Bayer Fund through this grant. For years, Bayer has brought volunteers to community gardens and provided financial support for new and expanding community gardens. We look forward to growing this partnership into the future,” said Matt Schindler, CEO.

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Posted on June 28, 2023 in Environment, Home

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Scouts and outdoors lovers—come to MDC’s Scouting Event and Family Fun Day July 15 in Forest Park

Attention scouts of all stripes.  The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites you to MDC’s Annual St. Louis Regional Scouting Event and Family Fun Day on Saturday, July 15 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Forest Park Fish Hatchery Building.  This is an event for all nature lovers too.

Boy Scouts of America, Girl Scouts of the USA, and American Heritage Girls are all welcome.  This scouting event is free and will give scouts the opportunity to work toward several conservation-related merit badges.  But it is also open to any families interested in discovering and learning more about nature and the outdoors.  Affiliation with a scouting program is not required to attend.

MDC staff will guide participants through multiple activities that will help them appreciate nature and acquire valuable skills they can use in the future.  These include:

  • Macroinvertebrates
  • Birding
  • Fishing
  • Knot tying
  • Geocaching
  • A nature scavenger hunt
  • Cordage making
  • Crafts
  • And more

Attendees should note that MDC is providing activities that may be applied towards merit badges but is not authorized to sign off on badges.  It’s recommended that participants working toward badges bring their own counselors to certify them.

Scouts and outdoors lovers can learn vital outdoor skills, connect with nature, and flex creative muscles at this fun event.

All activities will be outside, so attendees should dress according to the weather. Participants may want to bring a refillable water bottle and wear sturdy shoes.  In case of bad weather, the event will be rescheduled for this fall.

St. Louis Regional Scouting Event and Family Fun Day is a free event, but registration is required at https://short.mdc.mo.gov/4P3.  Please individually register everyone who will be attending.

The Forest Park Hatchery is located on Grand Drive just south of Lindell Blvd., in the northeast corner of Forest Park.

Sign up for email or text alerts to stay informed of MDC’s latest programs and events by going to https://short.mdc.mo.gov/ZoP.

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Posted on June 25, 2023 in Home, Local Events

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Bangert Island Update: St. Charles’ Riverpointe Site Tour Reveals “Desolation Row”

Bangert Slough. Emergent wetland with narrow water channel.

by Don Corrigan

A tour of the site for the multi-million dollar Riverpointe Development in St. Charles over the Memorial Day weekend had some Sierra Club members singing Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row.”

Nature is being decimated to make room for another entertainment and retail district, south of the St. Charles Historic District and along the Missouri River. The project has stirred up opposition from a number of environmental and outdoor groups

Scott George, a naturalist and biologist with Environmental Science Consulting, led the tour. He took pains to document the carnage in the floodplain area, destruction which elicited much head-shaking.

Complaints also came from bicyclists and hikers along nearby Katy Trail. They said the trail has been stripped of trees from the I-70 bridge onward to the St. Charles Arena, which has made for extremely hot travel.

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Posted on June 20, 2023 in Environment, Home

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Missouri’s Black Bears: Will Missouri Join Well-Known Bear Roadkill States?

Photo courtesy MDC.

by Don Corrigan

Roadkill bear news stories usually originate from states such as Florida, Montana, Wyoming, Michigan and California. However, an increase in black bear population and bear highway incidents may put Missouri on the roadkill road map for large animals.

The most recent bear-versus-traffic incident in the Show-Me-State happened shortly before Memorial Day. A black bear that had been spotted in the Festus-Crystal City area was struck by a vehicle and killed on Tuesday, May 23, according to authorities.

Festus Police reported that at 9:10 p.m. a bear was struck by a vehicle and was found lying in the median of I-55 south of Highway A. The location is about 20 miles south of St. Louis.

This was not the first time a bear was struck and left as roadkill on I-55 in southern Jefferson County. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC), bear sightings are more common this time of year, because mothers push male cubs to go out on their own.

Bears wandering in populated areas present a danger in any state. Nationally, a number of states far surpass Missouri in bear populations and roadkill traffic incidents with bears.

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Posted on June 10, 2023 in Home, Outdoor/Nature