POPULAR LAKE DRAWS PEOPLE AND PELICAN

WAPPAPELLO -- During a recent year, boaters at Wappapello Lake in Southeast Missouri shared the waters with an unusual visitor -- a brown pelican.

Pelicans are considered rare in Missouri, normally living in Florida and other coastal states.

But "Pete," as he was called, wound up in landlocked Missouri.

Pete didn't seem bothered by the boaters who often circled around for a closer look as he rested on a channel buoy.

Pete eventually moved on.

"The pelican could probably migrate back to a coastal area within a day's time," said Michael McClendon, of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Wappapello Lake management office. "Pete appeared here one day and disappeared on another day."

Wappapello Lake, nestled in the foothills of the Ozarks in parts of Wayne and Butler counties, offers a haven for much wildlife -- including the bald eagle, migratory waterfowl, deer, squirrels, other small game -- and a variety of wild plants.

The 44,000 acres of land and water that make up the lake area offer a spectrum of outdoor activities from fishing and hunting to swimming, picnicking, boating and camping.

Although the lake on the St. Francis River came into being in the early 1940s as a flood control reservoir and protects thousands of acres of farmland along the St. Francis River, it has become one of the premier tourist and visitor attraction areas in Southeast Missouri.

More than 2 million people a year take advantage of the recreational opportunities and facilities provided by the Corps, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and private concessionaires.

Over the past 10 years, the Corps has initiated many improvements, including new campgrounds -- ranging from primitive to modern sites with electricity and dumping areas -- improved boat ramps, parking lots, swimming areas, nature trails and access areas.

Another major expansion next summer will be a visitor center facility in the dam area near the small town of Wappapello. The lake is the town's namesake.

Plans are to expand the previous administrative building into a 3,000-square-foot visitor center with displays and games for the youngsters. The new center is targeted to open by July.

Three major events -- Old Greenville Black Powder Rendezvous in April, Old Greenville Days in August and the Coors Light Silver Bullet Drag Boat Nationals in May -- attract large numbers of people to the lake area. Each of these events was attended by more than 20,000 in 1994.

More than 6,300 visitors drove through the Redman Creek Campground last December for the Festival of Lights Auto Tour to view the various decorated campsites. This figure is up more than 2,000 from the 4,200 who attended the first year's Festival of Lights in 1993.

The annual event is sponsored by the Corps of Engineers at Wappapello Lake and the Greater Poplar Bluff Area Chamber of Commerce.

"These are some activities that we didn't have 10 years ago," said McClendon.

The Wappapello Lake Traditional Access Plan was approved in 1992. The new plan called for marking all access areas, which range from "cow path" access trails to vehicle access trails.

"The access areas are well marked and everybody knows what type accesses they are," McClendon said.

During the mid-to-late-1980s and early 1990s, numerous hearings were conducted throughout the area to discuss the access plan. A written comment period also was part of the review process.

The final revised plan of 1992 designates 75 access areas for public use out of the 158 originally identified. In some cases, footpaths remain in some ares where accesses were removed. Sixty-one of the access areas are maintained by the Corps.

"We have more access areas at Wappapello than most state lakes and double the access areas of Truman Lake," McClendon said.

The Corps, however, still receives complaints from some individuals concerning the closure of about half of the original access areas studied.

Businesses around the lake area, however, compliment the Corps' work.

Reggi Barrett of Barrett's Resort & Marina is impressed with the Corps' management of the lake.

"We've seen a gradual increase in visitors each year," said Barrett, who is already making reservations for 1995. "People use the lake throughout the year, but we're open only eight months a year, from the first of March to the last of October."

The Barretts are adding an 18-hole miniature golf course this year.

"The Corps keeps everything around here in good condition," added Barrett. "They have improved swimming facilities, launching ramps, roads and other recreational areas around the lake."

A spokesman for Miller's Motor Lodge, which offers a lodge, private lake and park, attributed the increase in visitors to the efforts of the Corps.