The Weldon Spring Conservation Area, is a 8398 acre conservation area that is owned and managed by the Missouri Department of Conservation and located in St. Charles County, Missouri. The area borders the Missouri River, and the Katy Trail runs through the area but is not considered part of the conservation area.

History

The area was named for John Weldon, who immigrated to the area in 1796 and acquired a 425 acre Spanish Land Grant. During WWII The U.S. Government acquired nearly 17000 acre in the area to build a munitions plant. Portions of the Conservation Area were used by the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works, and old bunkers formerly used for the storage of TNT still dot the area. The area is part of a superfund site, and has been decontaminated. TNT and uranium processing were done on this site. All of the land except the munitions plant was given to the University of Missouri in 1948 for use as an agricultural experiment station. The Department of Conservation originally purchased 7230 acre from the University of Missouri to establish the conservation area in 1978.

Geography

The area currently has 8398.09 acre, which includes 6752.5 acre of forest and woodland, 744 acre of cropland, 500 acre of sparsely vegetation sand flats, 300 acre of grassland, 66 acre of lakes and ponds, 20 acre of glades, and 16 acre of wetlands. The area has numerous limestone cliffs overlooking the Missouri River. The floods of 1993 and 1995 deposited sand on almost 1000 acre of agricultural fields, which now provides valuable wildlife habitat.

Recreation

The area provides a wide variety of recreational activities.

Hunting and fishing

There are several small lakes and streams as well as the Missouri river that provide fishing opportunities in the conservation area. Hunting is permitted during special managed hunts as long as regulations are followed.

Hiking and biking

There are 29.5 mi of trails in the conservation area. This does not include the Katy Trail, which is part of the state park system. Two of the trails, the Lewis and Clark trails, are open to hiking only, while the Lost Valley and Hamburg trails are open to both hiking and biking.