ZIES Projects _____________________________________________________________

St. Louis County
Spirit of St. Louis Airport
Wetland Mitigation Project



The ZIES, in partnership with St. Louis County/Spirit of St. Louis Airport, is creating/restoring 95 acres of wetlands along the Missouri River in St. Charles County, Missouri. The project site is a 212 acre parcel along the Missouri River near Defiance, Missouri and the work is being done as a result of drainage improvements taking place at the airport over the next 2-3 years. Restoration efforts will include construction of several low areas designed to hold surface water for extended periods of time. These low areas will then be planted with seeds and plants which are accustomed to growing in such conditions. Other work includes: restoration of other portions of the site by planting trees and shrubs (both seedlings and larger, container-grown plants); using a no-till drill to plant native wet prairie seeds; improving the existing stands of timber; and monitoring the success of the restoration/creation efforts over the next five years.

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Photograph Descriptions
  1. Greenville College students "rescue" wetland plants from the airport for transplant to the mitigation site
  2. Clearing activities at the mitigation site
  3. Caterpillar Challengers and towed scrapers excavate the new wetland areas
  4. Soil samples are taken to assess subsurface conditions
  5. Phil Davis, ZIES Environmental Technician, places native prairie wetland vegetation seed in our Truax no-till drill for planting; the power unit is an AGCO ALLIS 6690 front-wheel-assist tractor
  6. Tractor and no-till drill in action
  7. David Patrick, Director of the ZIES, gives direction to local area high school students on the techniques for planting potted trees
  8. Students from SAFE (Students Acting For the Environment) Club of Francis Howell High School help plant potted trees

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