photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Debris and other possessions are scattered throughout a homeless camp on the banks of the Kansas River in East Lawrence on Dec. 8, 2022.

The eagle has not landed — and that means an unsanctioned homeless camp along the banks of the Kansas River can stay, for now.

The Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks has no plans to seek the removal of the unsanctioned camp behind the Amtrak station near Seventh and New Jersey streets in East Lawrence. The camp is producing a large amount of debris and activity on property that has a conservation easement designed to protect bald eagle habitat along the Kaw.

But officials with KDWP determined recently that the nearest bald eagle nest is about a mile downstream from the homeless camp; thus concerns about how the camp is impacting eagle habitat is “relatively low at this time,” the department said via email.

The Wildlife and Parks Department is responsible for enforcing a conservation easement that was placed on the property in the late 1980s when the Riverfront Mall was being constructed in downtown Lawrence. The Journal-World reported on the existence of the easement last month. At that time, officials at KDWP said they needed more time to research whether the sprawling camp was a violation of the environmental protections placed on the property.

The department didn’t make a definitive ruling on that point, but did say there currently are no plans to direct the City of Lawrence, which owns the property, to remove the campsites.

“It is not known at this time if/when KDWP may take action,” Nadia Marji, public affairs chief for KDWP, said in an emailed statement. “As is the case with any ground we have a conservation easement on, a high degree of trust is placed on the landowner that they will conduct activity on the property in a manner consistent with the easement.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Tents in an unsanctioned homeless camp in the woods near Seventh and New Jersey streets are shown on Dec. 8, 2022.

Some residents who live near the campsite were not pleased with KDWP’s reasoning that the camp could stay because eagles weren’t nesting near the camp.

“The eagles are not coming around because of all the people and activity on that site,” said Marty Kennedy, who has lived and worked near the Seventh and New Jersey intersection for more than 20 years. “They (eagles) used to be down there in the trees a lot of mornings waiting for a fish or some breakfast to appear in the river.”

The KDWP statement did not provide an estimate of how long eagles have been absent from the property, but the Journal-World has a question into the department seeking further information on that point.

Kennedy does not dispute that eagles have become rare near the campsite area. But he also noted that activity at the campsite property has been growing over the last three years. The unsanctioned camp has become larger and more visible in the last year, but Kennedy said the activity has been building for quite awhile. He suspects the years of camping on the site has pushed the eagles away.

Of course, this is not all about the eagles. Kennedy is among a group of residents who have expressed concern that the campsite is unsafe, unsightly and a detriment to the neighborhood, regardless of whatever impact it has on eagles.

Kennedy said the camp is progressively getting worse, as more tarps are being hung from trees and more items are being hauled into the wooded area.

“They went over the hill for me when they hauled a car in there,” Kennedy said. “The hood and the trunk are open and all the glass is out of it.”

KDWP in its statement did not specifically address the amount of debris and other material that is accumulating along the banks of the Kansas River as a result of the campsite. But in its statement the department referenced a portion of its mission statement that said the department shall work to ensure “current and future generations appreciate and enjoy these living resources.”

The Journal-World does have a question into the department about whether the amount of debris and pollution accumulating at the site threatens the public’s ability now and in the future to enjoy the natural resources along the river.

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

Debris and other possessions are scattered throughout a homeless camp on the banks of the Kansas River in East Lawrence on Dec. 8, 2022.

The Journal-World also has a question into the City of Lawrence asking for any update on when the city might seek removal of the campsites from the city-owned property. The city is spending $1.8 million to construct along North Michigan Street a village of temporary shelters for people who are experiencing homelessness. However, the city has not committed to forcing the closure of the unsanctioned campsite at Seventh and New Jersey once the new village is constructed later this year.

UPDATE: 1:50 P.M. APRIL 4: A city spokeswoman in an emailed response to the Journal-World offered no definitive timetable for the city to disband the unauthorized camp.

“The solution to homelessness is housing,” spokeswoman Laura McCabe said via email. “The City has committed leadership of the community’s goals for emergency sheltering and affordable housing with Douglas County leading efforts on other critical pieces of the housing needs continuum. We understand unauthorized camping is a concern, which is why we continue to develop emergency sheltering solutions, such as the Pallet Shelter Village as we work toward long term solutions. We will continue to defer to the expertise of the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks regarding the land use concern and its effect on the Bald Eagles.”

Kennedy, who is a former city commissioner and Lawrence mayor, said camps have occurred at the property many times over the years.

“But this is the worst it has ever been,” he said.

Thus far, Kennedy said, he hasn’t seen anything that makes him optimistic that the city will take action to change the situation.

“They have let this one go on for probably three years or more,” Kennedy said. “They don’t do anything about it, so the people keep coming and the camp keeps growing.”

photo by: Chad Lawhorn/Journal-World

A car, pictured on March 14, 2023, has been moved into the woods of an unsanctioned homeless camp along the Kansas River in East Lawrence.