The Castor River Conservation Area in southwestern Bollinger County could be a suitable site for a recreational lake, a state lawmaker said Monday.

State Rep. Bill Foster, R-Poplar Bluff, said the Missouri Conservation Department land could offer an alternative to a lake that would cover parts of Cape Girardeau and Bollinger counties.

The Regional Commerce and Growth Association and other lake supporters have been pushing for development of a 7,680-acre lake. It would be formed by damming the Whitewater and Little Whitewater rivers about a mile upstream from Millersville.

Many property owners in the vicinity oppose it because they don't want to lose their land.

Time is running out on efforts to get a lake bill through the Missouri Senate this year.

Foster said the Conservation Department owns 9,122 acres of land that adjoins the Castor River.

"That would be a good area to look at versus taking farm land and trying to convert that into a lake site," he said. "There has to be a better answer than condemning land."

Foster said it also would improve the chances of getting Highway 34 improved from Van Buren to Jackson.

The forested conservation area lies on both sides of Highway 34 and includes Blue Pond, the deepest natural pond in Missouri.

Foster said the Conservation Department has adequate funds from its one-eighth of a cent sales tax to build a lake.

The department could build a lake for fishing and boating. Houses couldn't be built around it.

"If the objective is to set up a lake just for developers to sell lots off of, then I don't have an alternative for that," he said.

Foster said he might introduce legislation next year regarding such a lake project provided it is feasible and the Conservation Department and area residents support it.

State Rep. David Schwab, R-Jackson, said he doesn't know how feasible the conservation area would be for development of a lake.

"It sounds attractive," said Schwab. He said it would cost less to build the lake there because the state already owns the land.

But Gerald Ross, assistant director of the Conservation Department, said the conservation area wouldn't be suitable for a large lake like the one proposed along the Whitewater River.

In addition, the state already has an 1,800-acre lake, Duck Creek, in Bollinger County, about 10 to 15 miles from the Castor River area.

Ross said the Conservation Department isn't looking to put a dam on the Castor. Typically, the department looks at areas where there are intermittent streams or a large drainage area in choosing a site to develop a lake.

"You have to look at the water holding capability of the soil and the watershed and what size lake it would support," Ross said.

The department hasn't done any feasibility study on the issue, he said.

State Sen. Peter Kinder, R-Cape Girardeau, has introduced a bill that would amend a 1990 lake law. Lake supporters say it could help refloat the Cape Girardeau-Bollinger County lake project.

Kinder's bill would limit a lake authority's power of eminent domain and prohibit the authority from rezoning the farm land surrounding the lake as long as it stays in the hands of current owners or their heirs.

It also would allow proponents to circulate initiative petitions to get a sales tax issue on the ballot to fund construction and maintenance of the lake.

Kinder's bill was approved by a Senate committee. But the committee chairman, Sen. James Mathewson, D-Sedalia, hasn't put it on the Senate calendar.

Kinder said Mathewson doesn't view the bill as a high priority. If the bill doesn't get on the calendar, it won't come up for a vote before the full Senate this session.

Time is running out because the session is more than half over, he said.

Kinder said he hasn't decided whether to amend his bill as suggested by Schwab. But he said it won't matter if the bill doesn't get on the legislative calendar.

Schwab said he won't support the lake bill unless major changes are made in the legislation that would protect the rights of landowners.

Among other things, Schwab has proposed the lake project first be voted on by affected property owners. If a majority of landowners approve it, the county commissions would put the lake-tax issue before voters in both counties.

Schwab said that even if Kinder's bill passes the Senate, it faces an uphill battle in the House.

"It won't be a priority bill," said Schwab.