MDC Makes Major Habitat Renovations at Northwest Missouri Conservation Areas

Nature sometimes needs a reset to benefit wildlife.

Crews for the Missouri Department of Conservation are restarting the native plant cover at the Platte Falls Conservation Area near Platte City.

Past floods damaged levees in a low-lying area that the Platte River loops around, known as the duck head.

M-D-C heavy equipment operators are now nearing completion of major levee repairs.

Crews installed a new water control structure in the levee.

They also cleared overgrowth in fields in between tree lines.

Another area of emphasis for MDC is preserving and restoring native grasslands.

MDC’s Pony Express Conservation Area in DeKalb County and the Bonanza Conservation Area in Caldwell County are areas where native grassland restoration is ongoing.

Brian Gilbert, MDC wildlife biologist, says most of the restoration sites were overgrown by undesirable tree species that are unproductive for native wildlife.

Gilbert says these once undesirable treed areas will be productive grasslands that will benefit all native species in north Missouri, as well as migrating grassland bird and insect populations.