MEMBERS OF LOCAL SIERRA CLUB WILL HELP IN PARK RESTORATION PROJECT

Members of the Southeast Missouri Sierra Club will travel to Meramec State Park in Sullivan, Mo., this weekend to join other groups in a park restoration project.

Joining the Trail of Tears Sierra Group will be other Sierrans from across the state and members of the Audubon Socity. These volunteers will be spending the weekend working with the state's Department of Natural Resources to restore a number of glades in the park.

Interested individuals are invited to join the local group in the project. Or, volunteers can meet at 8:30 a.m. Saturday in the visitor center parking lot at Meramec State Park. Opportunities for overnight camping are available.

According to Trail of Tears Conservation Chair Alan Journet, glades are patches of dry and rocky ground occupied by grasses, shrubs and few trees.

"They are home to a number of sensitive species of plants and animals," Journet noted. "Over time, unless some disturbance such as fire occurs, these glades are filled in as cedars grow and spread throughout the area, and the result is the elimination of the glade species that were present."

The purpose of glade restoration is to reduce the cedar density and return the patches to their previous composition.

"Management of our natural resources to promote native species diversity is an important objective on public land," Journet suggested. "This represents a fine opportunity for conservationists to join with a state agency in achieving these goals."

For more information, contact Randy Spratt at 335-1547.