Restoring the Glory

The River Des Peres once ran through Forest Park, carving the landscape and shaping the park's ecosystems, but changes associated with the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition made it unsanitary and prone to flooding, leading first to a temporary underground diversion covered with wood and dirt for the exposition and then, by 1930, to the entire river within the park being placed underground in a pair of 32-foot-tall cement tunnels where it still flows today. In 1995, the Forest Park Master Plan outlined a new waterway for the park, and from 1999 to 2004 a restored stream system was built to connect previously isolated lakes and ponds, create an essential wildlife passageway, reduce water use by half, provide a natural filter for water runoff, and form a corridor for visitors and wildlife. Much of this waterway is bordered by a riparian buffer that spans nearly the park's full length and provides water, shelter, and forage for many wildlife species, including songbirds, pollinators, and occasionally mink or muskrat along the stream banks.

St. Louis, Missouri · United States