Hindman Discovery Garden at Stephens Lake Park

Rough grading and boulder work is underway at the Hindman Discovery Garden. Most of the large boulders have been placed, the overlook wall is completed, most of the Council Ring has been completed and work has begun on the living wall. Please see the photos below to view the progress.

View of the overlook from the Stephens Lake Trail.

The living wall under construction.

Boulders being set by the grading contractor.

The Council Ring grading is complete. We still have a lot of planting to do.

Posted by MS 8-18-2011.

Fire Pit in Stephens Lake Park

For all of those that like to enjoy a bonfire on a cool fall night or a simply as a place to warm during winter sports, Stephens Lake Park is the place for you.

Located near the Collins Shelter, the department constructed a 3-ft diameter fire pit. This pit, designed to meet all state and local laws regarding recreational fires may be rented or used on a first come first served basis. Wood for the firepit is provided by the Parks and Recreation Department and is kept on site only during the winter sports season.

When there is 4-inches or more of snow, park staff may be available to assist with starting fires in the pit. During these cases, trained Forestry staff may be seen utilizing the same fuel that they use in their driptorches. A driptorch is a tool used in wildland firefighting, controlled burning, and other forestry applications to intentionally ignite fires. This fuel, often representing a mixture of about 30% gasoline with 70% diesel, is commonly used in driptorches. Often you'll see Forestry staff using controlled burning to manage or assist the development of native prairies at the Forum, Grindstone, and Garth Avenue natural areas.

For the public, the use of gasoline is strictly prohibitive as a fuel to start the fire. As the below fire pit rules indicate, the department recommends that paper or manufactured logs be used to ignite the fire.

1. The fire pit is considered part of the Collins Shelter and is not available to others if the shelter is reserved. If the shelter is not rented, it is available on a first come, first served basis.

2. The Collins Shelter is used as the warming area during the Winter Sports Season. Therefore, the shelter and fire pit is not available for rental during winter sports activities such as sledding, ice skating and cross country skiing.

3. Columbia Fire Department permits are not required.

4. It is the responsibility of the renter to provide fuel for burning. State laws dictate that only natural materials such as aged logs may be burned. Items such as pallets, scrap lumber, treated lumber, tires, leaves, etc, are expressly prohibited. Logs shall be limited to three foot (3’) in length.

5. Combustible fuels such as gasoline, diesel or kerosene shall not be used to start or keep fires burning. Charcoal lighter fluid, paper or manufactured starter logs are recommended.

6. It is against City of Columbia Ordinances for any person in a park to damage, cut, or remove any tree or branch in a park. Therefore, renters should not expect to find burning materials in the park.

7. Fires must be kept with the boundaries of the designated fire pit. State laws require that recreational fires may be no larger than three foot by three foot (3’ X 3’).

8. It is the responsibility of the renter to extinguish the fire upon completion of the event. A frost proof water hydrant is located near the shelter. It is recommended that the renters should bring a 25-foot garden hose or a 5 gallon bucket for fire control and to extinguish the fire. No hose or bucket will be provided by the City. The water hydrant is locked and renters must check out a key on the last business day prior to their event.

9. All logs that have not been burned must be removed by the renter. Logs that have been partially burned may be left in the fire pit.

10. Straw or hay bales are not to be used for seating and/or decorative purposes.

11. All fires will be inspected by the Park Ranger to insure compliance with the above policy.

Dead Fish at Twin Lakes, No Cause for Concern

We received an email from a dog owner that frequently uses Twin Lakes and in a recent visit, found several dead bait fish along the banks of the large lake. The owner was concerned that we may be using chemicals to treat the water or weeds along the shoreline.

Our department prides itself on being an eco-friendly, green operation. We try to maintain water quality through natural means whenever possible. Stephens Lake Park lake is a great example. We used to rely on chemicals such as Cutrine-Plus, an algicide to kill the blue/green algae (an algae that could be fatal to animals such as dogs) and AquaShade, a dye used to prevent growth of algae. However through management plans that included planting of aquatic shoreline plants; reducing the nutrients provided by geese feces; and the continued use of our aerators and fountains, we have not had to use any chemicals this year. We anticipate that the Stephens water quality will further improve once the construction of our water fall is completed.

The same goes for Twin Lakes. Our volunteer Columbia Aquatic Restoration Program (CARP) has planted over $10,000 worth of plants that we received from a grant. This and the continued use of the aerators, have enabled us to not use any chemicals.

I might also add that the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Environmental Protection Agency, both recognize the value of using Curtine-Plus to manage algae. MDC has a publication on algae control, Algae Control in Lakes and Ponds, that we use as a basis for our own program. They recognize that algae is a greater threat and must be controlled. Cutrine-Plus is a very safe product for both humans, pets and wildlife. It's one of the few products where you may swim immediately after application without any risk. Cutrine is widely used in drinking, irrigation, fishing and stock lakes as it has no restrictions. AquaShade, approved by the EPA, is a harmless, simple "blue" color dye used to prevent the growth of algae. We have only used AquaShade at Stephens Lake Park.

I mention this as should we ever encounter a significant blue/green algae bloom, we may need to use Cutrine or AquaShade to handle the problem. Hopefully, we won't ever have that situation arise.

We do not use chemicals for weed/shoreline management either, so any source of chemicals would have to come from the resident's yards located above the lake. With the amount of turf between the lake and the homes, I doubt many if any fertilizer or chemicals reach our lake.

The dead fish you see are Gizzard Shad. Gizzard Shad are known to have a weak system and can't tolerate low oxygen levels or changes in water temperatures. The week of Sept 22-26, 2008 was unseasonably warm and I'm sure that was part of the problem. The nervous systems of these fish are so sensitive, that even when caught by a net for bait, they will quickly die in the bait bucket. In fact, MO Dept of Conservation has actually posted a sign at the lake to inform park users that the dead fish is Gizzard Shad and not a sign of problems. This sign states:

"This lake contains a species of fish call Gizzard Shad. Gizzard Shad, by nature, are very fragile fish and prone to early spring die-offs. They stress easily and die from natural environmental factors that normally have little effect on other fish species. Some of the factors which help promote these die-offs include water temperature extremes and fluctuations, overpopulation and disease. Don't be alarmed if you see dead shad scattered around the shoreline during late spring or summer. It's a natural occurrence for lakes containing Gizzard Shad to experience these periodic die-offs. These fish will eventually be recycled through the aquatic ecosystem by natural processes."