Tucked away in southeastern Johnson County, a wooded path curves around the Blue River. The quiet pocket of nature has become a makeshift bike trail for some, and a tempting after-school hangout for nearby Blue Valley students. But abandoned since the 1990s when it was the site of a multi-million-dollar environmental cleanup, the land also has seen explorers get injured, and a fatal crash at the railroad tracks near it. Now, conservationists and some local officials are urging Johnson County to take over the 35-acre site near 164th Street and Mission Road. They want the county to turn it into a new park connected to its trail system, improve safety, remove invasive species and finish ecological remediation to restore the soil and water quality. “You don’t have to drive very far in southern Johnson County to see the bulldozers converting natural areas and former agricultural land into subdivisions,” said Bill Blessing, a board member for the nonprofit Heartland Conservation Alliance. “The ability of the county to conserve land for the use of current and future residents is rapidly being diminished due to the pace of real estate development. We see this as a closing window of opportunity to conserve natural land.”
Source: Joco 913 News
