From the collaborative efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, St. Louis Audobon Society, Audobon Society of Missouri, St. Louis County Parks, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the first of three restoration phases of the St. Louis Urban Conservation Treaty for Migratory Birds is complete.

An ongoing effort from 2004 through 2008, this restoration- based project has successfully restored four St. Louis County parks to provide quality stop-over and breeding habitat for migratory birds and enhance educational opportunities in urban areas of St. Louis.

Missouri Ecological Services aided in restoration efforts at the four parks which included Creve Coeur County Park, Lower Meramec Park, West Tyson Park, and Hunters Ford Park. Within Lower Meramec Park, a 10 acre wet mesic prairie was restored, while a 15 acre mesic prairie was restored in West Tyson Park.

Twenty acres of sand prairie was restored in Hunters Ford Park, and the most recent restoration efforts have provided Creve Coeur Park with 20 acres of upland prairie and five acres of mesic woodland. Restoration tactics included prescribed burning and subsequent planting of native grasses and forbs in an effort to achieve pre-settlement conditions.

With the completion of the first phase of this collaborative restoration initiative, the second phase involves planting native trees and shrubs at Tower Grove Park within the city of St. Louis.  Upon completion of the second phase, the goal of the final segment of the project is to enhance migratory bird habitat corridors by planting native trees and shrubs in the St. Louis’s Green Center. When completed, restoration projects will provide educational opportunities to students and the general public, highlighting the importance of migratory bird habitat for the survival of migratory birds.

All phases of the restoration project under the St. Louis Urban Conservation Treaty for Migratory Birds are scheduled to be completed by spring of 2008.