by John Besser, Nature Areas Chair

Few Audubon members have visited the Albert Children’s Wildlife Area (Albert Area), although it has been owned by CAS for over 30 years. This approx. 80-acre property (see map here) is located in eastern Boone County along Cedar Creek. When CAS acquired this land, it was entirely covered by waste from coal mining which occurred in the mid-twentieth century. In the 1990s, most of the area was restored by the Missouri DNR, leaving a mixture off grassland, wetlands, and woodland over much of the area. The northern part of the area is still covered by rugged deposits of mine waste, which limits access to this property. The only automobile access to the Albert Area requires use of a driveway on a neighboring property.

We will visit the Albert Area on Sunday, November 10, starting at 1 PM. The neighbor, Jess Broadhacker, will open his gate to allow us to use his driveway to enter the Albert area. We will walk about one-half mile to see the variety of habitats on the CAS property. The route will be on level ground, but we expect that some areas will be overgrown with vegetation. We will also talk with Mr. Broadhacker about his plans for the surrounding acreage and his interest in purchasing the Albert property from CAS.

if you’re interested in joining this tour, please RSVP to jbesser1@gmail.com. Due to limited parking at the site, we will meet at the Wild Haven nature area and carpool to the Albert Area. We will return to Wild Haven no later than 3 PM.