Watershed Committee organizes capital campaign

A capital campaign is in the works to fund construction of a Watershed Center, an environmental education facility.

“We have talked about having a place, a gathering place, where we can have people come for workshops and meetings, but we also would like to demonstrate a lot of the things that we’ve been preaching and talking about for years,” Watershed Committee Director Loring Bullard said.

He hopes to turn those desires into reality at a 100-acre site on Valley Water Mill Road north of Interstate 44 between U.S. Highway 65 and Highway H.

Jeanette Umsell, chairperson of the Watershed Center Task Force and former Watershed Committee member, said the site was chosen because of its geological features, including a lake, a cave, a stream, glades and wetlands.

Although some amenities of the center will be similar to the Springfield Conservation Nature Center, Bullard said the Watershed Center will be distinguished by the combination of watershed-focused education and professional development and its environmentally friendly green building. Construction of green buildings follows specific environmental guidelines set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council.

The Watershed Committee has enlisted Kansas City-based BNIM Architects for the green building design. Bullard said the first cost estimate exceeded $3 million, but designers are working to get it under $2 million. Construction on the green building is expected to begin in summer or fall 2006.

Four outdoor learning stations will further the facility’s educational purpose.

The walking trail at the center will connect with the South Dry Sac Greenway trail that runs along the site’s northern edge.

“You’ll be able to ride a bike down the South Dry Sac, park, walk our trail if you want to, or go into the center or go fishing or whatever, and then ride on,” Bullard said.

Grant funding

Most of the work to this point has been funded through four grants, including a direct federal appropriation of almost $1.5 million and three matching grants that have a combined potential of $550,000. The next step is to move ahead with the capital campaign, which Bullard said he expects to begin sometime this summer. The capital campaign will pay for the construction of the green building.

The city of Springfield, City Utilities and Greene County fund the Watershed Committee’s operating budget.

Another partner is Springfield-Greene County Parks Department, which has agreed to provide site maintenance and has expressed interest in contributing $250,000 to the capital campaign.

The Watershed Center connects Springfield-Greene County Parks and the Watershed Committee because it is viewed as both a community park and a watershed center site, Bullard said.

Additionally, Springfield-Greene County Park Board recently acquired 53 acres adjacent to the Valley Water Mill property, said Miles Park, Park Board superintendent of general services.

“The Park Board is working on preliminary plans on developing a north side equestrian facility,” Park said.

Another important partner will be the community.

“We’re going to have lots of needs for volunteers to help with various things,” Bullard said.

At this point, the Watershed Center Task Force is not planning on charging visitors a fee. But fees for facility use and for workshops are being considered to offset operating costs, Bullard said.

Water attracts people to the Ozarks, and as a result of having an abundance of the precious commodity, it’s important to be educated on how to be good stewards of it, Bullard said.

“The water is what makes this area great,” he said. “If we don’t take care of our water resources, the quality will go down. A lot of the things that attracted us here may eventually be gone and that may eventually affect our economy.”

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