August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area is a conservation area that is owned and managed by the

Missouri Department of Conservation The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) and the Missouri Conservation Commission were created by Article IV Sections 40-42 of the Missouri Constitution, which were adopted by the voters of the state in 1936 as Amendment 4 to the constitution ...

. Located in

St. Charles County St. Charles County is in the central eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 405,262, making it Missouri's third-most populous county. Its county seat is St. Charles. The county was organized Oct ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, the land was purchased by the Department of Conservation with help from Alice Busch, the wife of

August Anheuser Busch, Sr. August Anheuser Busch Sr. (December 29, 1865 – February 10, 1934) was an American brewing magnate who served as the President and Chief executive officer, CEO of Anheuser-Busch, based in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1913 to 1934. It became the wo ...

, in 1947 from the

U.S. Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

History

During the 1940s portions of the area were used by the Weldon Spring Ordnance Works and the

Department of the Army The United States Department of the Army (DA) is one of the three military departments within the Department of Defense of the U.S. The Department of the Army is the federal government agency within which the United States Army (U.S.) is org ...

for the production of

TNT Trinitrotoluene (), more commonly known as TNT, more specifically 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene, and by its preferred IUPAC name 2-methyl-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene, is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. TNT is occasionally used as a reagen ...

and DNT. There are 100 old

bunkers A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...

formerly used for the storage of TNT still in the area. The Atomic Energy Commission used the area from 1958 through 1967 for disposal of rubble contaminated by

uranium Uranium is a chemical element with the symbol U and atomic number 92. It is a silvery-grey metal in the actinide series of the periodic table. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons. Uranium is weak ...

and

radium Radium is a chemical element with the symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, but it readily reacts with nitrogen (rather t ...

. In 1947 Alice Busch, the wife of

, donated $70,000 towards the cost of purchasing the area to use for conservation purposes as a memorial to her late husband. Due to its history as a processing facility for DNT and uranium ore, the area is part of a

superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...

site. It was decontaminated to protect water quality and public health.

Geography

The area has an area of , with of forest, of cropland, of lakes and ponds, of wetlands, of old fields, of roads and parking lots, and of grasslands, of which is restored prairie. There are 32 lakes and ponds open to fishing, 20 fishless ponds, a spring, of intermittent streams, and of permanent streams.

Recreation

The area provides a wide variety of recreational activities. There is a picnic area, pavilion, visitor center, viewing blind, fishing dock, and boat rentals in the area.

Hiking and biking

There are several hiking and biking trails in the Conservation Area totaling . The Busch Hiking and Biking Trail is the area's longest trail at and is open to both hiking and biking, as is the long Hamburg Trail. The Fallen Oaks Nature Trail is long, has interpretive displays, and is partially handicap accessible. All other trails are less than long and open to hiking only.

Hunting and fishing

Hunting and fishing are permitted in the area given that the appropriate regulations are followed. There are 32 lakes stocked by the Department of Conservation and open to fishing. The lakes are stocked with

trout Trout are species of freshwater fish belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of the subfamily Salmoninae of the family Salmonidae. The word ''trout'' is also used as part of the name of some non-salmoni ...

black bass Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have of ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive, ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or "copper nose" as is common in Texas, is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and ...

, sunfish, and

muskellunge The muskellunge ''(Esox masquinongy)'', often shortened to muskie, musky or lunge is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name "muskellun ...

. Parts of the area are managed to support dove populations for hunting. According to the Department of Conservation, there are currently no concerns of contamination of the wildlife, from the nearby Superfund site. There is also a shooting range in the area.

Handicap accessibility

There have been numerous improvements in the park to improve accessibility for wheelchair users. These include ramps, concrete fishing areas, and boardwalks around nature viewing areas.

References

{{Protected Areas of Missouri Protected areas of St. Charles County, Missouri Nuclear weapons infrastructure of the United States Military Superfund sites Conservation Areas of Missouri Nature centers in Missouri