Douglas County commissioners are enthusiastic about a proposal to restore Wells Overlook Park to its original prairie condition, but first they want a committee to study the feasibility of the plan.
Commissioners at their Wednesday meeting said a plan to cut down most of the park's trees and replace them with native prairie grasses may save them from closing the facility, which has suffered from vandalism and frequent reports of litter that indicate sexual activity is taking place there.
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"I think we all agree on the commission that we can't allow the park to continue as it is," Commissioner Charles Jones said. "But maybe we have a plan here that will allow us to do something other than closing the park to the public, which I think would be a terrible loss."
Ken Lassman, a member of the family who donated the park land to the county in 1970, told commissioners that cutting most of the trees and reseeding the area in prairie grasses should increase visibility and make for easier maintenance of the park, which is near the intersection U.S. Highway 59 and County Route 458 south of Lawrence.
Under the plan, the park's tower, shelter house and playground equipment would remain.
Commissioners agreed to create a committee, though, to study the cost of converting the land back to prairie its original environment until grazing and burning of the land stopped in the 1950s, which allowed trees to overtake the limestone ridge.
Kelly Kindscher with the Kansas Biological Survey said he was optimistic the county could qualify for federal grants to significantly defray the costs.
In addition to studying the costs of the project, the committee also will seek public comment on the idea.
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