Weldon Spring Conservation Area and Wetlands

Weldon Spring Conservation Area and Wetlands. . , Weldon Spring Conservation Area History, .In the 1790s, North Carolina frontiersman John Weldon settled in the area with a 425-acre Spanish land grant. Weldon built a log home on high ground overlooking a spring, for which the town Weldon Spring was later named., .During World War II, the federal government acquired 17,000 acres in the area and built the world's largest TNT and ONT manufacturing facility to support the U.S. Army's war effort., .In 1948, the federal government gave all of the property except the munitions plant to the University of Missouri for use as an agricultural and forestry experiment station. , .The Missouri Department of Conservation purchased a portion of the property from the University in 1978 to set aside as a conservation area. The Weldon Spring Conservation Area includes two tracts of land totaling more than 8,300 acres., .The Katy Trail passes through the conservation area and parallels the Missouri River for 5.3 miles. , .The conservation area is rich in natural resources and contains the Weldon Spring Hollow Natural Area. This unique 385-acre natural area consists of dry mesic uplands, bottomland forests, rugged river breaks, limestone cliffs and bluff escarpments. The landscape is similar to that of the Ozark Mountains in Southern Missouri., .The Missouri River borders the entire southern edge of the conservation area. , Abundant Flora and Fauna, .Many of the forested hills in this area are steep and rocky, dominated by oak and hickory trees and a rich (unreadable) wildflowers. Species include Bloodroot, Dutchman's Breeches, Spring Beauty, Dog-tooth Violet, Wake Robin, Jack on the Pulpit, Adam and Eve Orchid and Lead Plant., .The conservation area also is home to a wide variety of wildlife including mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. Watch for White-tailed Deer, wild turkey, raccoon, Fox Squirrel, Three-toed Box Turtles and Ornate Box Turtles., .Most acres of the conservation area provide valuable breeding, foraging and nesting habitat for a wide variety of migratory songbirds such as the Acadian Flycatcher, Red-eyed Vireo, Worm-eating Warbler, Wood Thrush and Ovenbird., Wetlands, .The large wetland at the base of the river bluff receives clean, treated water from Duckett Creek Sanitary Plant, recharging the wetland year-round, even during drought conditions. , .During high water levels, the area also is flooded by the river, which recharges the wetland with water and nutrients. Flooding allows fish such as the Long-nose Gar and Mosquitofish to enter the wetland., .This wetland is home to Wood Ducks, Great Blue Heron, Red-eared Slider Turtles and Northern Water Snakes. Beaver are active in the area, building dams that alter water levels., .A wetland is typically a low-lying area covered with shallow water. Sometimes called swamps, marshes, bogs or sloughs, wetlands are important ecosystems because they act as biological filters to cleanse polluted water. They help reduce the impact of flooding, protecting shorelines from erosion and recharging groundwater aquifers. Wetlands provide habitat to a rich diversity of wildlife, and consequently provide recreation through wildlife viewing, boating, hunting and fishing.