By Jill Draper
South Kansas City is gaining two natural areas for hiking, biking and possibly canoeing and kayaking, thanks to the efforts of a local land trust called the Heartland Conservation Alliance.
One area is the Heartland Overlook Preserve, a 40-acre section between Blue River and Grandview roads, north of Bannister Road. Hikers and bikers already are using 2 miles of trails there, but an official grand opening is planned for the fall when additional signage hopefully will have been installed, said Jess Hartel of the alliance.
The opening date is further away for a newer parcel called the Blue River Nature Preserve; its improvement depends on securing additional funding. This parcel is 98 acres of former farmland and woodlands south of Martin City between 150 Highway and Holmes Road. Much of the land borders the Canadian Pacific Kansas City railway, and the only current access point is through Cornerstones of Care’s campus, which sits to the north.
“We have a partnership with them and an access easement. In the early days we’ll escort people through their property,” said Hartel, director of conservation and education.
“Future access could be a footbridge across the river, but we don’t have funding for that.”
When Hartel talks about the river, she means the Blue River and its watershed, the largest in the metro area. The river flows 40 miles across Kansas and Missouri before it empties into the Missouri River, and in the early 1900s it provided swimming, fishing and camping for many communities, as well as a place at the northern end for year-round houseboats.
But over the years it became polluted with sewage overflows and urban runoff from agricultural and lawn chemicals and oily streets.
The Heartland Conservation Alliance is working with more than two dozen partners to protect and restore the Blue River watershed, with a mission of reconnecting neighborhoods and people along the way. One of their goals is a continuous Blue River Greenway that stretches along the river corridor from the Overland Park Arboretum to the Missouri River just east of downtown KCMO.
The alliance was able to purchase 70 percent of the acreage for its newest preserve with a $200,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation. A private donor supplied the remaining funds, while another source is being pursued for money to restore and maintain the property, Hartel said.
Staff and volunteers first will remove invasive plants like Johnson grass and thistles. Already they’ve planted hundreds of bare root saplings like willow, maple, cottonwood, sycamore and black walnut. In time they would like to build a put-in/take-out point for small boats like canoes and kayaks. Right now there’s only one canoe launch in south KC at
Jackson County Park’s Brown Athletic Field east of Holmes on Blue Ridge Boulevard. A second access point would make it easier to float in one direction and shuttle cars, Hartel said.
In addition to owning and managing land, the alliance also holds conservation easements that place a permanent protective status on property as it transfers from owner to owner. The alliance is always interested in hearing about land that might be eligible for this status or for acquisition, Hartel said, adding, “There are a lot of gaps along the way. So much of the river has no riparian corridor around it.”
A lack of physical access prevents many residents from using the river, she said, and some do not even know it exists.
The alliance expects to partner with Cornerstones of Care for the youth in their green job training program. Other volunteers often come through Bridging the Gap’s WildLands program, and various workdays are scheduled throughout March at the Heartland Overlook Preserve to restore woodlands and remove invasive honeysuckle.
On March 29 a local birding expert will offer a guided tour of Alex George Wetland in Minor Park, and a fungi forage with a local mycologist will be held in April; details to come. For more information see heartlandconservationalliance.org.