by Marsha Gebhardt
President, Wild Ones St. Louis Chapter
Wild Ones: Native Plants, Natural Landscapes promotes environmentally sound landscaping practices to preserve biodiversity through the preservation, restoration and establishment of native plant communities.
It is with this mission of Wild Ones in mind, that the St. Louis Chapter joins with our like-minded partner organizations in the St. Louis region to urge every concerned citizen to immediately contact all St. Louis County Council members. Tell them to vote FOR the 40-acre restoration project in Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. See below for background information and email addresses for the Council members.
St. Louis County is seeking the restoration of a 40-acre site in Creve Coeur Lake Memorial Park. The site was damaged after the previous administration allowed a developer to begin preparing the land to construct an ice hockey facility on federally protected open space. Outcry from the County Council and members of the public brought a halt to the ice rink plan, which had been undertaken without proper federal or state authorization.
Recently, County Executive Dr. Sam Page wrote to the County Council asking for legislation to enter into an agreement with the Missouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) for a native prairie planting project in the park.
Under the plan, MPF would plant native grasses and wildflowers on 40 acres in the northern corner of the park that the previous administration had denuded in 2017 for the proposed ice rink. “The native prairie planting project will restore some of the biodiversity that had been stripped from Creve Coeur Park and will create additional habitat for butterflies, songbirds and other wildlife,” Dr. Page said.
Over the course of the next three years, MPF’s work will include preparing the project site for planting, seeding, mowing, weeding, removing invasive species and conducting prescribed burns to further the establishment of the native prairie plants. There will be no initial cost to the County associated with the plan.
Legislation is before the Council now; however, it is not guaranteed passage because there is some opposition to the project on the Council. This is where WE come in! We need to flood the council with emails and letters of support for the project before the next hearing date (TBD)!
- District 1 – Councilwoman Rita Heard Days – mchappelle-nadal@stlouisco.com
- District 2 – Councilwoman Kelli Dunaway – councildistrict2@stlouisco.com (she’s sponsoring this!)
- District 3 – Councilman Tim Fitch – District3@stlouisco.com
- District 4 – Councilwoman Shalonda D. Webb – swebb@stlouisco.com
- District 5 – Councilwoman Lisa Clancy – lclancy@stlouisco.com
- District 6 – Councilman Ernie Trakas – esimms@stlouisco.com
- District 7 – Councilman Mark Harder – District7@stlouisco.com
Marsha asked me to post the email I sent to the members of the St. Louis County Council about the proposed prairie at Creve Coeur Park.
Dear Councilman/woman ……,
As members of St. Louis Wild Ones and St. Louis Audubon, plus frequent visitors to Creve Coeur Park, we urge you to pass Bill 44, 2021. This bill would allow MIssouri Prairie Foundation (MPF) to prepare and plant a prairie on the 40 acres that were denuded of old growth stands of trees and vegetation during grading for the failed ice hockey rink project. Whenever I drive past this flat, grassy plot, I am heartsick about the damage done to bird and insect habitat. The current state of this plot provides no ecological benefit. The proposed MPF prairie project would rectify this blight on our park. Bill 44 does not cost St. Louis County any money and we urge passage of this bill which will benefit both wildlife and visitors to the crown jewel of the St. Louis County Park system, Creve Coeur Memorial Park.
Thank you,
Joan Gray
Nancy Kuhlman
*your address*
Thanks Joan!
Hello to ALL,
Just e-mailed Councilwoman Shalonda Webb…many voices will come I am sure!
Hi all,
I used the template almost exactly above (but added St. Charles WildOnes too) and emailed all council members. I also sent comments to COWCommitteeComments@stlouisco.com which is required by 4:30 pm today March 1st to be considered for reading or analysis by the committee. They will talk about this live tomorrow March 2nd at 4:30 pm.
Kind regards,
Brian Ferris
Here are some Councilman/Councilwoman responses that have been received:
Councilman Harder’s only concerns with bill 44 are to make absolutely certain that all the remediation measures that were agreed to by the former developer of the ice rink have been completed as specified so that the prairie project does not inadvertently cover up a problem that still needs to be addressed. He has no opposition to the prairie project itself and believes it will enhance the overall park experience.
Councilman Trakas is in support of this project per response from Administrative Aide.