COUNTY PARK NATURE CENTER PUT ON AGENDA

Missouri Conservation Commission members will consider a proposed nature center in Cape Girardeau County North Park at a meeting later this month.

"I have a very good feeling about this project," said Cape Girardeau County Presiding Commissioner Gerald Jones. "I think we're going to lose a little grass, but we're going to gain one heck of a facility."

The center is on the agenda for the conservation board's meeting Sept. 25 in Cassville.

A contingent of local officials will attend the meeting to hear the discussion firsthand.

Construction of a center is estimated at between $4 million and $5 million.

The board first heard a proposal for the center at its January meeting, held in Cape Girardeau.

Since then, members of the Conservation Department staff have visited the park to get a look at the property and think about potential uses.

The possibilities are even bigger than local officials had in mind when the project was first pitched to the commission.

"They are talking about a nature center for the next generation," Jones said. "Southeast Missouri State University would have classrooms and internships in wildlife biology and law enforcement. They are talking about Internet connections with area schools. Kids can tap in and do preliminary research before they ever come to the nature center."

Conservation Commissioners have said a Missouri Conservation Department nature center for the Cape Girardeau area is next on a list for construction, but the department needed a way to fund it.

The funding proposal suggested by local officials is a cooperative venture. County government, Southeast Missouri State University and the Conservation Department would work together.

The group proposed a lease-purchase financial arrangement. The Conservation Department would plan and design the center. The county would serve as the financial agent.