HERITAGE Newsletter of the Missouri Parks Association Post Office Box 30036, Columbia, MO 65205
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HERITAGE Newsletter of the Missouri Parks Association Post Office Box 30036, Columbia, MO 65205 Volume 36, No. 1 June, 2018 Susan Flader, Editor Ste. Genevieve National Historic Park is Now Law! A National Park tors—to Ste. Gene- Service presence in vieve. But first it Ste. Genevieve was would be necessary proposed at least as to secure an NPS early as the 1930s, study of the area, but local folks did not State Park Director much trust the federal Doug Eiken ex- government, so the plained to advo- idea went nowhere. cates. Nor did it advance Spurred by a num- when refloated nu- ber of Francophiles, merous times since Senator Kit Bond then. By the turn of st introduced the first the 21 century, how- bill for a French ever, efforts of the The 1792 Amoureux House will anchor the new National Historic Park. Colonial Heritage Foundation for Res- Study Act in late toration of Ste. Genevieve and oth- realize that the imprimatur of the 2001, followed by other bills in ers had begun to bear fruit, as citi- National Park Service could bring 2003 and 2005. Somewhere along zens and public officials began to more attention—and more visi- the way state park officials (See "Ste. Genevieve" on Page 6) MPA to Gather at Watkins Mill October 5-7 Plan now to attend MPA’s 36th annual gathering Saturday we at Watkins Mill State Historic Site and Park October meet at 8:30 5-7. The mill is a National Historic Landmark, the at the visitor most intact, best preserved 19th century textile fac- center at Wat- tory in the nation, and we will have a behind-the- kins Mill for scenes tour, so this is not to miss. Lodging will be at the annual the historic Elms Hotel and Spa in Excelsior Springs, state of the where a block of rooms at a special rate of $149 is parks address being held for MPA until September 14, so book by Ben Ellis your rooms now by calling 1-816-630-5500 or 1-800 and a panel -THE-ELMS and ask for the MPA rate. There are on cultural Watkins Mill State Historic Site. also motels in the vicinity and a fine campground at resource stewardship (a complement to the panel on Watkins Mill. natural resources last year). Then the tour of the mill, For those arriving early, there will be a special historic site, and park followed by our annual dinner. tour at Confederate Memorial SHS at 1pm with dis- Sunday morning’s annual members and board meet- cussion of an issue regarding removal of Confederate ings will begin at 8:30, likely at The Elms. If you statues. You can then visit nearby Battle of Lexing- have time before heading home, be sure to visit ton SHS and its fine museum before crossing the nearby Weston Bend or Wallace State Parks. Regis- river en route to The Elms, where we plan a social tration will be available in August, but reserve your with heavy hors d’oeuvres and possible program. lodging now. Page 2 The Missouri Parks Association Meet your Missouri State Parks Team by Sue Holst Matt Carletti – Superintendent, Weston Bend State Park For Matt Carletti, serving as superintendent at nity what recreational feature should be added to the Weston Bend State Park is a natural fit. It offers park. The overwhelming answer was a dog park. many of the things he is passionate about – a stun- With assistance from the city of Weston Bend and ning natural environment, ties to history, and out- Platte County Parks and Recreation, the first dog standing opportunities for recreation. These are the park in the Missouri state park system was devel- same elements that make Weston Bend State Park a oped. Carletti says the dog park has become very popular state park for visitors. popular and brings in people who would not other- wise visit the park. Located on the bluffs overlooking the Missouri River in northwest Missouri, the area’s history in- Weston Bend State Park also serves as home to Car- cludes an association with Lewis and Clark Expedi- letti’s family – his wife Martha, who is a professor tion’s 1804 river journey and the nearby town of at Benedictine College in Atkinson, Kansas, and Weston, which was once recognized as the largest their children, Meg, eleven, Kate, eight, and Zack, hemp port in the world. Five tobacco barns in the five. Carletti hopes the park serves as his home into park serve as reminders of another once-thriving the future. “I like the people I work with and I enjoy industry. working for state parks. Plus, there are many more The area’s history was a natural draw for Carletti, projects I want to complete here to make the park who earned a degree in history from William Jewell even better.” College in Liberty. His experience includes Matt Carletti demonstrates how an apple cider press works. In the early work at a living history farm in Urbandale, 1900s the Harpst family had an apple orchard in the vicinity of the current Iowa, as well as work at Watkins Mill State Harpst Trail. The fall event is held in conjunction with Weston's Applefest. Park and Historic Site, Mark Twain State Park and Lewis and Clark State Park, which he continues to oversee. When he came to Weston Bend in 2011, Carletti also embraced the park’s other aspects, including a rugged river hills landscape that offered plenty of recrea- tional opportunities. Today, the park offers eight hiking and bicycling trails and Car- letti’s goal is to connect all eight of them to form one 10-mile loop. The park fea- tures a popular modern campground, and its location along the river makes it a world-class birding area, drawing birders from across the Midwest. The park also includes picnic areas and shelters. The Bee Creek Shelter, a con- verted tobacco barn, is an enclosed shelter that can accommodate 125 guests. Popular for weddings and reunions, the shelter is one of the highest grossing shelters in the state park system. To accommodate its popularity, the park has begun reserving it two years in advance. As of March, the shelter had already been booked every weekend in 2018 and part of 2019. When Carletti first came to Weston Bend, he began asking visitors and the commu- Page 3 The Missouri Parks Association Another Strange and Trying Legislative Session Despite all the turmoil of legisla- eral of the new state parks acquired repair, maintenance, and steward- tive investigations and lawsuits by former Governor Nixon with ship at other parks. against the governor throughout the grant money from the same source. The House of Representatives session, many observers concluded The overwhelming expression of approved the budget bill without that the Missouri General Assembly public support for the new parks in any discussion of the item, and was more productive this year than local hearings in fall 2017 likely likely with next to no one even in the previous few years. But it was persuaded the Greitens administra- knowing about the proposed refund. a trying year again for state parks. tion not to try to sell or otherwise When the bill reached the Senate, Last year some two dozen bills dispose of the new parks, as a few park supporters and their lobbyists to hobble the parks were introduced legislators had been demanding, so talked with Appropriations Commit- into the session, but only one made DNR officials were now offering to tee members or staff, none of whom it to the governor’s signature in the return the only federal grant funds knew anything about the refund; general disfunction that limited the remaining unspent, those intended their reaction: why give back money number of total bills passed. Most of for restoration. The legally required that state parks so obviously the same bills were introduced again restoration could still be accom- needed? At the committee hearing, this year. But after the appointment plished by park stewards without the however, the chair and a few sena- last July of new park director Ben funds, they said, though park sup- tors pulled back from their micro- Ellis and his assiduous efforts to porters feared the money would phones for a few seconds to say meet with key legislators to discuss come instead from funds slated for something inaudible, after which the their concerns and to chair indicated they would provide ample back- be going with the DNR ground materials for all request. members, very few of And then an even stranger the bills even won a development. When the hearing and the atmos- Senate committee’s substi- phere regarding parks tute for HB 2006 was re- seemed calm and even leased the next week, the supportive. House language authoriz- Ironically, the ing the refund of the strangest series of $574,372 (Sec. 6.310) had events late in the ses- been deleted but the sion was triggered by $574,372 had now myste- what DNR Director riously migrated to the Carol Comer apparently Historic Preservation Re- considered an olive volving Fund (Sec. 6.285), branch to legislators. which is in DNR but not in She asked them for their state parks and from which approval of an item in an equal amount of general HB 2006, the operating General Revenue (GR) budget for parks and was removed. other conservation When the bill was taken up agencies, authorizing on the Senate floor later DNR to refund that same day, an amend- $574,372 currently re- ment intended to solve the siding in the State Park problem by restoring the Earnings Fund to the House language was ap- Natural Resource Dam- proved; but it turned out ages Fund in the federal that Sec.