Stay in Touch with MDC news, newsletters, events, and manage your subscription
Xplor reconnects kids to nature and helps them find adventure in their own backyard. Free to residents of Missouri.
A monthly publication about conservation in Missouri. Started in 1938, the printed magazine is free to residents of Missouri.
COLUMBIA, Mo. — The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) invites all ages to an open house at Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area to celebrate the area’s 25th anniversary. The open house will take place 10 a.m.–4 p.m. at the Eagle Bluffs field office, 6700 W. Route K near McBaine. This event is free and open to all ages. Attendees are invited to come and go as they please. Lunch will be provided at no cost to all attendees.
Visitors will learn about the history of Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area and the many partner groups working together toward a common goal of wetland and floodplain natural resource management.
Among the many partner organizations represented, the University of Missouri Raptor Rehabilitation Project will offer live raptor presentations and volunteers will have commemorative hats and t-shirts for sale with proceeds going toward habitat improvement on the area. A documentary film screening will explore the area’s unique design and cooperative agreement with the City of Columbia’s waste water treatment system.
Other partner groups onsite will include Ducks Unlimited, Delta Waterfowl, Friends of Eagle Bluffs Photography Group, Missouri Master Naturalists, and the Columbia Audubon Society.
MDC purchased and developed this 4,431-acre area to help offset the loss of nearly 90% of Missouri’s historical wetlands. The area’s 17 shallow pools allow the flooding of 1,100 acres of moist soil marshes, emergent marshes, and crop fields which provide year-round habitat for migrating and wintering birds and resident wildlife species, as well as excellent wildlife viewing and hunting opportunities.
Wetland management infrastructure includes 30 miles of levees, 61 water control structures, river water supply pumps, a water supply junction box, pump-out facilities, and a pipeline linking the area to the City of Columbia’s wastewater treatment wetlands. The city’s recycled wastewater provides a near constant source of water for the wetlands. Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area also features a stop on the Great Missouri Birding Trail, a scenic blufftop overlook, and straddles a section of KATY Trail State Park.
For more information about this event, contact The Eagle Bluffs Conservation Area field office at (573) 445-3882.
