ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Greensfelder Park in Pacific, Missouri, is about to grow by 156 acres, adding property that features grasslands, woodlands, a pond and a small cave.
County executive Dr. Sam Page has requested the County Council to pass legislation to authorize the land acquisition. The Conservation Fund, a national nonprofit dedicated to protecting natural spaces, worked with the County Parks and Recreation Department to secure a contract for the purchase of the land.
The nonprofit will raise the funds needed to acquire and subsequently donate the land to the county. It will also evaluate the natural features to be conserved.
“This will be a valuable addition to Greensfelder Park and the entire county park system,” Page said. “I appreciate the generous support of The Conservation Fund for working with other agencies and organizations to secure this land.”
When the property is acquired later this spring, the Parks and Recreation Department will use it as a passive recreation site with an emphasis on land protection and natural enhancement, including prairie reconstruction, woodland management and invasive species removal.
The Parks and Recreation Department will collaborate with Open Space Council for the St. Louis Region and the Conservation Stewardship Alliance to restore portions of the property to native habitat. It will receive a $20,000 management and stewardship donation from The Conservation Fund to support the work.
Pre-expansion, Greensfelder Park has 1,582 acres with 32 miles of trails. The added property has oak woodlands, cedar groves and successional woodlands. The pond is 1.4 acres.
Located in western St. Louis County, Greensfelder is popular as a hiking destination, and with mountain biking enthusiasts.
From the St. Louis County news release:
The land will be protected utilizing grants from the Mysun Charitable Foundation, the Open Space Council for the St. Louis region, the Missouri Department of Conservation and The Conservation Fund through the Flanagan South Pipeline Mitigation Fund provided by Enbridge Pipelines, which was negotiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to support mitigation for impacts to endangered species and migratory birds resulting from construction of the pipeline.
