MDC seeks public input for three areas in Platte County

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Kansas City
Published Date
09/01/2016
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Sedalia – The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) wants to know what Missourians think about its nearly 1,000 conservation areas around the state. MDC is updating management plans for three areas in Platte County. They include the Kendzora Conservation Area, Little Bean Marsh Conservation Area, and Dr. Frederick Marshall Conservation Area. Plans for the areas will be available for public comment through Sept. 30.

To preview draft management plans and share comments online, visit www.mdc.mo.gov/areaplans.

MDC’s Kendzora Conservation Area north of Edgerton offers fishing, hunting and hiking on 746 acres. Fishing opportunities include one mile Platte River frontage and a 35-acre fishing lake. A variety of wildlife habitat is offered including 200 acres of seasonally flooded bottomland, 300 acres of forest, and 190 acres of grasslands and old fields. A portion of the area is in southern Buchanan County.

Little Bean Marsh Conservation Area north of Weston preserves a 167-acre wetland. It is an old oxbow of the Missouri River and one of the last large marshes in the river’s flood plain. The area is considered a prime birding location. Two paved trails lead into the wetland and forested areas. The 440-acre area also has some forest and old fields.

MDC’s Dr. Frederick Marshall Conservation Area preserves 169 acres of rolling land southwest of Platte City. Habitat includes forest, old fields, crop land, and a restored woodland mix of large bur oaks and native prairie grasses. The area also has a half mile of frontage on the Platte River.

Statewide, MDC conservation areas cover almost one million public acres for the purpose of restoring and conserving forest, fish and wildlife resources, and for providing opportunities for all citizens to use, enjoy and learn about these resources. Most Missourians are within a 30-minute drive of an MDC conservation area.

Conservation Area Management Plans focus on natural resource management and public use on conservation areas. The plans do not address regulations on hunting, fishing and other area uses, which are set by the Conservation Commission and enforced under the Wildlife Code of Missouri. MDC will consider all ideas received and will work to balance the issues and interests identified with the responsibility of managing areas for the present and future benefits to forest, fish, wildlife, and people. Decisions on which ideas to incorporate into area plans and on how to best incorporate them will be based on the property’s purpose, its physical and biological conditions and capabilities, the best roles of the property in its local, regional and state-wide context, and on the professional expertise of MDC staff.