Proposed Development

The Gans Creek Wild Area within Rock Bridge Memorial State Park is a beloved and irreplaceable resource for the citizens of Missouri, but its future is seriously threatened by encroaching development within the City of Columbia.  A 65+ acre housing development called Canton Estates has been proposed and the development of this property is contingent upon the City of Columbia approving annexation of this property from Boone County into the City, and rezoning 65 acres from Agricultural (A-1) to Residential (R-1) land use. 

Due to its proximity to the park and proposed density, the Canton Estates Development would upset the goals of solitude and preservation of the wild area in a number of ways. Noise from traffic and lawn equipment will interrupt the sense of solitude this designated wild area is intended to provide. Invasive plants will likely have an easier time gaining a foothold in the park. Free roaming pets may disturb or kill wildlife. Light pollution will affect the natural behavior of insects, bats, and night hunting birds.

The proposed housing development includes approximately 100 residential lots and 3 12-acre tracts directly adjacent to the Wild Area. Current city regulations provide no additional guidance or requirements for the protection of sensitive areas. If the development moves forward as planned, expert opinion suggests that runoff will have a significant negative impact on the health of the watershed. Further, the protected wilderness experience of the Wild Area itself is threatened by the proposed development, which is denser than any current development on the existing State Park boundary.

See the Friends of Rock Bridge Memorial State Park’s fact page for more details on the development.

Friends of Rock Bridge, the leading conservation group of the park, notes that the 65 acre Canton Estates plat can be roughly divided into three sections: a northern section that drains into tributaries to Clear Creek, a middle section that drains first into a small lake on a property on the west side of Bearfield Road, and from there into Gans Creek, and a southern section that drains into tributaries leading to the Gans.

In the case of the southern section, the development plat has clearly taken steps based on the sensitive area criteria, stepping back from the slopes on the southern edge of the property, and building at a density much closer to the county A-2 zoning of one house for every 2.5 acres. While we appreciate the consideration of water quality impacts in the plan, this means that the remaining 100 or so units are on about 40 acres, a density of 2.5 units per acre. A model relating dwelling units to impervious surface predicts a density of 20-40% in the middle and northern sections of the development (Ramsey, Kevin, and Aaron Poresky, 2013. A Place-based Tool for Assessing Cumulative Impervious Surface Outcomes of Proposed Development Scenarios URISA Journal 25(2): pp 25 – 38).

Studies going back 50 years have shown consistently that impervious surface above 10% results in a dramatic decline in stream health as measured by counts of aquatic macroinvertebrates. These organisms play a critical role in the food web as food for fish as larvae and for birds and bats as winged adults, so their loss directly impacts other groups of wildlife. The loss of these groups can affect the health of populations of top predators, or of species that keep leaf-eating insects from defoliating trees.

In Conclusion

Allowing this development as proposed will have long-term negative consequences.  These natural areas are critical to healthy ecosystems, our economy and our own well-being. 

The state park system is extraordinarily popular with the residents of Missouri. Rock Bridge Memorial State Park is an economic driver for Columbia and central Missouri. This park plays a critical role in educating our children about Missouri’s native species and natural areas, nurturing the next generation of stewards.

Columbia has a responsibility to protect sensitive areas like these because we have been entrusted by the citizens of Missouri to be good stewards of the park, not to mention the economic benefits it provides to our community.

Yes, development and growth are inevitable. But without doing so responsibly and sustainably, we rob our children and grandchildren of their chance to experience the natural world and we place the economic gain of a few individuals above the public interest of not only the people who call this area home, but ultimately all citizens of Missouri.

So far, over 7,994 people agree with us!

Click here for more info about actions you can take to protect Gans Creek for future generations.