Community Conservation

Taking Action

Thomas Hart Benton Group

• Group featured: Thomas Hart Benton Group of the Sierra Club
• Group mission: Restore and maintain Hidden Valley Natural Area
• Group location: Kansas City
• Contact by Phone: 816-561-1061, ext. 116
• For more information: kcwildlands.org or visit missouriconservation.org/8364

The towering trees, lush ferns and colorful wildflowers of Hidden Valley Natural Area give Kansas City residents a beautiful place to escape the fast-paced city. Hidden Valley, administered by the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department, is an excellent example of how citizens can take action through the Missouri Natural Areas System (MNAS) to preserve our natural resources. MNAS was created in 1977 to identify, protect and restore the best examples of Missouri’s natural heritage. The Kansas City WildLands organization, in cooperation with The Thomas Hart Benton Group of the Sierra Club and the Parks Department, work with volunteers to eradicate exotic plants and eliminate abuse from off-road vehicles.

Celebrate the 30th anniversary of MNAS by touring Kansas City natural areas, Saturday, April 14.

TRIM Applications

Take action to keep the trees in your community healthy.

Get funding to enhance or start a local tree care project from the Tree Resources Improvement and Maintenance (TRIM) program. TRIM provides reimbursement of $1,000 to $10,000 to assist government agencies, public schools and nonprofit groups with the management, improvement or conservation of trees on public lands. The TRIM grant application period is open through June 1. For details about the program or a TRIM grant application, visit the Department’s forestry page at missouriconservation.org/7367.

Master Naturalist

Regal fritillary butterflies discovered in Cooper county.

Members of the Boone’s Lick Chapter of the Missouri Master Naturalist program made a royal find during a butterfly inventory conducted at the Overton Bottoms Unit of the Big Muddy National Fish and Wildlife Refuge. Regal fritillary butterflies were found to inhabit the area, providing the first documentation of the species in Cooper County. The find is significant because regal fritillary populations are on the decline due to the loss of tallgrass prairie habitat. Data collected from the inventory was used to create a reference collection and a display for a future visitors’ center at the refuge.

For more information about how to become a Master Naturalist, e-mail Master.Naturalist@mdc.mo.gov or see link below.