Hidden Valley Natural Area, located northwest of the intersection of Highway 210 and Interstate 435, has officially been adopted by the Thomas Hart Benton Group through Kansas City WildLands.

This 82 acre natural area is managed by the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department. The area contains steep ravines with deep loess soils which support a diverse natural community of several species of ferns and spring wildflowers which grow in the shade of trees such as oaks, shagbark hickory, and Kentucky coffeetree.

As adopters of Hidden Valley Natural Area, the Thomas Hart Benton Group will organize workdays and provide volunteers to work on projects to protect and restore the biodiversity and unique character of this area.

Our first workday on March 22 determined the boundaries of the Natural Area and posted boundary signs.

Motorized vehicles are prohibited at Hidden Valley; nevertheless, ATV riders use their vehicles on trails they have established. This activity is causing areas of severe erosion and, with increased recent ATV activity, the widened and rutted trails are destroying habitat for the native species. Therefore, a priority project will be to work on measures to exclude ATV use of the area and to remediate the damage that has been caused by them.

Other projects will include removal of invasive alien plant species -— shrub honeysuckle in particular -— working on eliminating the trash and stopping illegal dumping that occurs in the area.

The Thomas Hart Benton Group will be working on these projects with the direction and help of Kansas City WildLands and the Kansas City Parks and Recreation Department.

If you are interested in participating in these rewarding projects, we welcome and need your help! Please contact Doris Sherrick at (816) 779-6708 or email bjsherrick@aol.com