The Missouri Department of Conservation is wanting to learn how visitors use the Walter Woods Conservation Area south of Joplin and also is inviting the public to ask questions about mining remediation scheduled to begin at the site next year.
Although the nearly 70-acre area in Newton County on Dutch Elm Drive was never mined, testing has found lead levels in part of the area 10 times the threshold established for cleanup, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
People can offer comments online through Sept. 30 by going to https://mdc.mo.gov/walterwoods and clicking on the Walter Woods User Survey under the “Quick Facts” information block on the right side of the page.
Aaron Jeffries, deputy director of the Missouri Department of Conservation, said: "The long-term vision is restore it to a functioning ecosystem, whether it is a grassland or a wetland system. ... just a very small part of the area is going to be impacted by remediation."
Walter Woods has been closed since June.
In a statement, the EPA noted that Walter Woods falls within the boundaries of theNewton County Mine Tailings Superfund site, and that lead, zinc and other mining wastes have been found on part of the area.
The EPA said the project is currently in the design phase, and that should be completed by the end of the year.
Austin Clapp, theEPA's remedial project manager for the site, said in a statement sent to the Globe:“With public health as our top priority, our team will continue to partner with the Missouri Department of Conservation over the coming months. Together, we are creating a safer and healthier recreational space for the residents of Newton County. Each step of the process gets us that much closer to MDC’s reopening of this cherished outdoor space.”
While it was never mined, it is adjacent to areas once used for mining, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.
EPA staff tested soil, including creek sediment, for lead, cadmium and zinc and, according to a statement from the Missouri Department of Conservation, found areas on the Walter Woods property where concentrations of one or more of these metals are high. The EPA is required to remediate soil with lead concentration levels above 400 parts per million. Some EPA samples taken at Walter Woods showed concentrations as high as 4,000 parts per million.
According to the statement, the EPA remediation will affect approximately 12 acres of the 68-acre area.
"Though it’s not known at this time how long remediation will take at Walter Woods, what is certain is that the area won’t end with a bare, scraped-up landscape as the finished product. MDC will work with partners to create native habitats that trail-walkers, nature photographers, and other future visitors to the Walter Woods Area can enjoy after remediation has been completed," the state agency said in a statement.
Jeffries also said they have no plans to sell the property or to remove the lodge.
Asked what the restoration would look like, he emphasized that remediation "needs to occur to remove the high levels of lead contaminations on part of the area. We do not know the exact acreage, but remediation will likely impact 10 to 15 acres of the conservation area. Some trees will be removed, but most of the trees in the grassy lawn should not be affected and will be protected during the remediation process."
He said the EPA sent letters and forms requesting permission to sample soils and perform investigations at Walter Woods in 2019 and 2020, to which the state gave consent.
According to Jeffries: "MDC was not aware of the contamination prior to EPA's initial contacts since no lead mining occurred on Walter Woods, and there was no apparent observable, physical evidence of mining or mine wastes. All the lead contamination came from upstream sources on private land, which is why the remediation zone at Walter Woods is mostly in stream and floodplain sediments, and not in the uplands. After consultation with the Missouri Conservation Commission, retired Director Sara Parker Pauley signed an EPA request to perform remediation at Walter Woods Conservation Area in 2022."
He also noted: "Lead in the soil does not affect most plants or trees. Trees grow and appear healthy in soils with lead concentrations that pose significant health risks to humans and wildlife."
When the work is done, Jeffries said, it will be better for public health and will provide better trails for the public.
The property was purchased in 1931 by Dr. Otto Walter for Chapter 31 of the Izaak Walton League in Joplin. According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Works Progress Administration built many structures on the area in the early 1930s including a meeting lodge, two bridges, a stone wall fence and fish-rearing ponds. Three of the eight ponds remain today. The Izaak Walton League operated an active fish hatchery at the location for several years. Water for the hatchery operation came from a nearby spring. The department estimates the Izaak Walton League released more than 1 million fish reared at this site into area streams.
In 1985, the Izaak Walton League donated its 28-acre site to the Missouri Department of Conservation. The lodge was renovated in 1991 for use as an education training center. The trail system has been paved for disabled accessibility, and a new bridge was added in 2006 to connect the two trails. Additional land was later acquired by the state.
Hunting and trapping are prohibited in the area. Fishing is allowed only by special-use permit for conservation education programs.
The Missouri Department of Conservation said those who have enjoyed the trails at the Walter Woods Area can use the nearby trails at the Shoal Creek Conservation Education Center, 201 Riviera Drive.
