ST. LOUIS COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING
#10
Old Jamestown Lane
Florissant,
MO 63034
741-4219 ken@6smiths.com
I
am speaking tonight as President of The Old Jamestown Association.
Pending
final action at tonight’s meeting, I wish to commend St. Louis County for
enacting environmental legislation to preserve the unique geological karst
formations located in North St. Louis County.
This is truly environmental legislation for which the County will be
proud that future generations will benefit.
Karst geology is fragile, but relatively common in many parts of the world. It is characterized by underground rivers, caves, springs, losing streams, voids, and fissures. All of these conditions are the result of millions of years of water dissolving limestone formations that eventually result in surface collapse and ultimately, visible sinkholes on the surface.
This
area, often called the “Florissant karst” is well known by geologists worldwide
and was recognized at the 2007 National Cave and Karst Management Symposium
held in St. Louis. The four square mile
area is regarded as self-draining, since all storm water runoff discharges
directly into sinkholes and then to the network of underground water
aquifers. The “Florissant karst” is
particularly recognized for the intense density of deep, steep sided sinkholes
and although millions of years in geological formation, and still changing, the
general topographical appearance of the area remains unchanged.
The
earliest written record of the area dates back more than 200 years to 1797 when
the “sinkhole area” was a part of the original Patterson Settlement that was
“the first successful English speaking settlement in Spanish Territory”. Life in the “sinkhole area’ was sparse and
settlers subsisted by hunting, trapping, digging ginseng roots, and harvesting
fencepost timber out of the sinkholes.
The
opportunity today, to still experience such a large, essentially undisturbed,
environmentally unique area can be largely attributed to the planning and
zoning management in the past 25 years.
Drafters of the 1987 Old Jamestown Community Area Study recognized the
fragile environmental characteristics of the karst geology and included
protective provisions in the final document.
Since that time, through several cycles of administration, the
Department of Planning staff, supported by the Planning Commissioners, has
managed to adhere to the recommendations of the Community Area Study, sometimes
in spite of the undue pressure by other interests.
Our
special thanks to Councilman Mike O’Mara for his total support going back to
2001, and the support of former councilman Jim O’Mara extending back to the
initial concept of the project.
Jim
Van Dike, of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources has provided
invaluable support services since 1987
Director
of Planning Glenn Powers and his staff, particularly Gail Choate and Debi
Salberg have written a document of which to be proud, and one that could well
become a model for other communities.