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 constitut ...

. Located in

St. Charles County St. Charles County is located 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 organ ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') 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 border ...

, the land was purchased by the Department of Conservation with help from Alice Busch, the wife of August Anheuser Busch, Sr., in 1947 from the

U.S. Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

History

During the 1940s portions of the area were used by the

Weldon Spring Ordnance Works Weldon Spring Ordnance Works (WSOW) was a U.S. Government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility in St. Charles County, Missouri, 55 km west of St. Louis. The site was originally operated by the Atlas Powder Company during World War I ...

and the

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

for the production of

TNT Troponin T (shortened TnT or TropT) is a part of the troponin complex, which are proteins integral to the contraction of skeletal and heart muscles. They are expressed in skeletal and cardiac myocytes. Troponin T binds to tropomyosin and helps ...

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 Many countries have or have had an Atomic Energy Commission. These include: * National Atomic Energy Commission, Argentina (1950–present) * Australian Atomic Energy Commission (1952–1987) * Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission (1973–present) * ...

used the area from 1958 through 1967 for disposal of rubble contaminated by

uranium Uranium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, 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. Ura ...

and

radium Radium is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Ra and atomic number 88. It is the sixth element in alkaline earth metal, group 2 of the periodic table, also known as the alkaline earth metals. Pure radium is silvery-white, ...

. In 1947 Alice Busch, the wife of August Anheuser Busch, Sr., 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 (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

black bass Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''Psy ...

catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order (biology), order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Catfish are common name, named for their prominent barbel (anatomy), barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, though not ...

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 ''Pomoxi ...

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

, sunfish, and

muskellunge The muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy''), often shortened to muskie, musky, ski, 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 ...

. 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