Improving outdoor attractions is a worthy priority

On Thursday, the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce announced plans for a new 3-mile foot and bike path called the Wolf Creek Connector Trail. It will link Wolf Creek’s South Trailhead to paths on PP Highway. Once completed, residents can walk from Westwood Boulevard to the 20-plus miles of Wolf Creek Trails, and eventually into Mark Twain National Forest.

It’s funded by contributions from the city, parks & recreation department, Missouri Department of Transportation, Missouri Department of Conservation and T-Mobile Hometown Grant Program.

Steve Halter, president of the Chamber of Commerce, believes it will be a boon for outdoor enthusiasts as well as everyday people choosing to walk or pedal instead of drive.

“What it allows everyone to do is from in town, wherever they live, to ... get on a sidewalk or a trail and then connect all the way out here to this 21-mile trail system,” he said.

The trail will hopefully be completed early next summer.

It’s yet another example of Poplar Bluff’s commitment to expanding its quality of life, not just its industries.

In fact, there are two new parks in development right now.

If things go as Poplar Bluff officials hope, city residents will someday have a public access fishing pond within the developing Pike Creek Park. It would be located in the low, wetland area of the city’s new property between Roxie Road, Shelby Road and Kanell Boulevard, and adjacent to the under-construction police department.

“If you look at other cities we compare ourselves to like Sikeston or Cape Girardeau or Jackson or Farmington or even Dexter, those towns have really nice public access fishing ponds that are in the city,” city manager Matt Winters has said.

Smith & Co. Engineering is currently handling plans for the 3.25-acre pond. The city is applying for an outdoor tourism and recreation grant.

To the south, a new park is starting to take shape next to Ozark Ridge Golf Course.

The soon-to-be Leist Park is about 45 acres, larger than Hendrickson Park and about the size of McLane Park. The site has a pond which is also planned for public access fishing. Work has started on the site with the removal of a fence and underbrush between the golf course’s parking lot and the pond.

Parks and recreations department Director Lanny Corcimiglia hopes to make the pond larger, up to 4.5 acres, and build an additional 1.5-acre pond on the northeast side of the park.

“It will be exciting over the next 12 to 24 months to see what this turns into and how it starts growing, and everyone will get to watch with us,” Corcimiglia said in April.

Both parks will also have walking trails, playgrounds and pavilions.

The Ozarks region is a place of unique beauty, with its forests, wetlands, rivers and hills. We in Poplar Bluff can count ourselves fortunate, not only in living here, but in civic leaders dedicated to improving outdoor opportunities for all.