JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 The next addition to Missouri鈥檚 network of 93 state parks and historic sites could be a large swath of land between Elk River and Indian Creek in the state鈥檚 southwest corner.
The budget blueprint sent to Gov. Mike Parson last month for the acquisition of 1,800 or more contiguous acres in McDonald County for a new state park.
House Budget Vice Chairman Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, lives in McDonald County and told the Post-Dispatch he worked with House Budget Chairman Cody Smith, R-Carthage, on the proposal.
The property in question 鈥 1,850 acres of land 鈥 includes two caves, 3 miles of Elk River frontage and a 鈥渨ell-maintained鈥 three-story historical home just south of Lanagan, according to an real estate listing. The property is currently listed for sale at nearly $12.8 million.
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鈥淏ecause of the number of acres that are contiguous and the area that it鈥檚 in with the natural features that it has, it would be, you know, the Louisiana Purchase of our day,鈥 Deaton said.
鈥淎 piece of property such as this, with the features and the qualities and the size, I don鈥檛 believe will likely ever be available again,鈥 Deaton said. 鈥淎nd so, to be able to have it in perpetuity, owned by the people of Missouri, I think would be an incredible opportunity and a wonderful thing for the citizens of this state.鈥
The proposed acquisition comes years after former Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, was criticized by Republicans for land deals he engineered as governor.
The state in 2013 won at auction 330 acres in Shannon County that had been operated as Camp Zoe, at first a summer camp and then a concert and camping venue raided by law enforcement in 2010.
The land is now part of Echo Bluff State Park, which opened in 2016.
Nixon鈥檚 administration also announced the more than 4,000-acre Eleven Point State Park in late 2016, but the park has yet to be opened.
An Oregon County judge previously ordered the state to sell 625 acres affected by an easement, but a state appeals court reversed that decision and the Missouri Supreme Court in 2022 declined to reconsider the case.
Missouri State Parks is a conceptual development plan for that park.
One other addition purchased under Nixon 鈥 Bryant Creek State Park in Douglas County 鈥 has been open to the public. A conceptual development plan for another park, Shepherd of the Hills State Park near Branson, has been completed.
The Post-Dispatch reported in 2017 on yet another park added under Nixon. The park was named 鈥淛ay Nixon State Park鈥 and remains closed to the public.
Parson, a Republican, hasn鈥檛 indicated whether he will use his veto pen to zero-out the McDonald County park project. The overall budget for the fiscal year beginning in July exceeds $50 billion.
鈥淥ur office鈥檚 extensive budget review process is ongoing. Governor Parson is expected to take action on the FY25 budget before the end of the current fiscal year, June 30,鈥 Johnathan Shiflett, spokesman for Parson, said in an email. 鈥淥nce Governor Parson has made his budget decisions, we will make an announcement.鈥
Missouri State Parks do not charge admission fees, and annual attendance figures are only estimates.
Last year, visitation once again exceeded 20 million after dipping below that mark in 2022. Camping site and cabin rentals were down slightly from the year before.
Editor鈥檚 note: This version corrects the status of Shepherd of the Hills State Park.