Plans for a 1,100-acre Bass Pro Shops Outdoor Academy on Highway 86 west of U.S. Highway 65 cleared a major hurdle with unanimous approval last month by Taney County planners. And a representative of Bass Pro Shops said the former Gage’s Long Creek Marina – now, Bass Pro’s Long Creek Marina – will be home to a recreational vehicle park in about two years.
The Springfield-based outdoor company’s moves create a fourth development within a 20-mile radius of the resort, with properties spanning more than 12,000 acres.
The Outdoor Academy, slated about three miles south of Bass Pro’s 730-acre Big Cedar Lodge, would feature a roster of 33 activities, including horseback riding, archery, paintball, a ropes course, boat rentals and a shooting range, according to Bass Pro’s plans submitted to the Taney County Planning Commission.
Bass Pro Shops' Outdoor Academy is proposed south of Big Cedar Lodge, with Dogwood Canyon, Long Creek Marina and Top of the Rock located within 20 miles on more than 12,000 acres combined.
Martin MacDonald, Bass Pro’s director of conservation and Big Cedar’s spokesman, said with the county’s land-use approval in hand, company officials are busy nailing down details of the development. He said the Outdoor Academy represents a significant investment for Bass Pro, but he declined to disclose the project cost.
MacDonald said the academy would function in three key ways: as an outdoor recreation center, education center and conservation demonstration site.
“The mission of Bass Pro Shops is to be the leading merchant of outdoor recreational products – but here is the key – while inspiring people to love, enjoy and conserve the great outdoors. Our founder, Johnny Morris, has a passion for getting folks outdoors, and getting people outdoors is really what this project is all about,” MacDonald said. “Another way to look at this is as a low-density nature park, similar to Dogwood Canyon.”
Big Cedar visitors can catch a shuttle from the resort to the 10,000-acre Dogwood Canyon Nature Park near Lampe – developed by Bass Pro owner Morris – to experience the outdoors with horseback riding, fishing, leisurely walking or biking, and guided tours to bison and elk pastures across the Arkansas state line. MacDonald said the academy would be another nearby resource for those staying at Bass Pro’s resort, as well as area residents and visitors.
A visitor’s center, a lodge with 20 to 30 units, horse stables and the shooting range would be centrally located, according to the plans. From there, MacDonald said visitors could hop on electric ATVs to go camping, fishing or kayaking on the property. The academy also would provide hiking and biking trails, outdoor festivals and one-on-one instruction areas for activities such as outdoor cooking.
“There will be a large portfolio of activities for families to participate in,” MacDonald said, adding that planned conservation demonstration projects include erosion prevention and growing native plants.
Taney County Planning Commission Administrator Bob Atchley said noise concerns were the major issue for neighbors of the development due especially to plans for the shooting range. However, he said as of April 30, no one has filed an appeal to the commission’s unanimous decision.
Atchley said 16 restrictions were placed on the developers, including requirements for the use of sound-muffling devices on firearms, electric operated ATVs, and shooting hours limited to 7 a.m.–7 p.m. December–February and 7 a.m.–9 p.m. March–November.
The county does not have zoning districts like those in Greene County, Atchley said, and he likened the county’s conditional approval of the Division 3 permit to that of a conditional land-use permit in Springfield.
“At this point, they have submitted a conceptual site plan, but they have not yet submitted a detailed plan, especially of the shooting range area,” Atchley noted.
Noise from a new development in the area is an issue that Bass Pro’s Morris has been sensitive to in the recent past. In July, Morris wrote an open letter of concern to nearby residents of the $250 million racing facility dubbed Branson Sports Entertainment Complex planned east of U.S. 65 and Highway 86.
Objections to noise levels led the commission to require developer Russell Cook to install four listening stations a half-mile from the facility. Violations would occur if noise from the track exceeded 68 decibels.
Atchley said Bass Pro officials offered to be held to the same standard, but with the shooting range being open year-round, and with the possibility of other hunters in the area, the commission felt enforcement would be too difficult, Atchley said. MacDonald said the range would be centrally located on the property and more than a half-mile away from the nearest property boundary in an effort to reduce noise levels and mitigate the concerns of neighbors.
He said originally the development plans included horse stables north of Highway 86 and an RV park off Jones Road, but concerns about highway traffic brought forward by the planning commission caused Bass Pro to reconsider. MacDonald said the stables are now slated south of Highway 86 next to the visitors’ center between Jones Road and Tate Road. He said plans for the RV park would be tied to Bass Pro’s Long Creek Marina.
Bass Pro acquired Gage’s Long Creek Marina in Ridgedale through Big Cedar LLC in a bankruptcy court-approved asset sale March 15 with a bid of $2.3 million. Gage’s Long Creek Marina filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in June, leading to the purchase. The marina is up and running and those who had boat slips with Gage’s still have slips with Bass Pro, MacDonald said.
“We’re just looking to enhance the lots there,” he said.
