In Missouri the Fund has helped local nonprofits to protect more than 16,000 acres, including the historic Confluence Greenway, which extends from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis to the Mississippi River’s junction with the Missouri and Illinois rivers.
Pershing State Park’s wet prairies and bottomland forests teem with diverse birds, endangered Indiana bats and lush plants. In 2009, we helped add 1,449 acres that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources will restore as habitat and a site for recreation, education and research. The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Ducks Unlimited provided key support for the project as part of the Upper Midwest Wildlife Initiative, which is dedicating more than $10 million over three years, across five states, for projects that fulfill State Wildlife Action Plans. The Natural Resources Conservation Service and the Missouri Bird Conservation Initiative provided additional significant funding.
Tom Duffus, our Upper Midwest Director, shares how protecting land at Pershing State Park also dramatically improved the life of a local farmer. Read his story.