Did you know that the Corps of Engineers is 'onboard with and ready to fund' a project that would open back up a chute of the Missouri River, following the same path that the river flowed back in Weston's river port days?
Yeah, it's true!!! I first contacted the Corps about 3 years ago, presenting the idea to their committee under their 'Missouri River Mitigation Project" branch. In short, this branch of the Corps of Engineers has been given the charge of restoring many parts of the Missouri River back to it's 'natural state', which is to say restoring historic chutes and wetlands.
They are extremely excited about this project, they've already aquired a couple hundred acres out of the approximately 2000 acres needed.
Facts:
-They want to do it.
-They will only buy land from willing sellers.
-They can only offer 'fair market value' for the land.
Some of the land is owned by non-locals who only consider the land an investment, and they would sell if they were offered the right price.
However, some of the land is owned by local Westonites, and their families have farmed that ground for generations. If a project like this were to happen, I think we as a town would be remiss to not seize the opportunity to honor those families and their contributions to Weston!
-FYI- for those of you who don't understand hydrology;-), which included me up until 3 years ago, this project would NOT make Weston more vulnerable to flooding. Weston is currently only vulnerable to flooding via backwater at Bear Creek, and that would remain the same. If this project happened in fact, more wetlands like this one along the river would actually help alleviate the severity of flooding by allowing the river to 'escape' it's current banks in a controlled manner.
My original SITEPLAN, present to the Corps of Engineers
old Fort Leavenworth map, but it shows Weston and Kickapoo Island
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