Missouri state agency says Buchanan County will have ownership of Lake Contrary
By Chris Fortune
The Missouri Office of Administration cleared up any ambiguity about lake ownership in the county.
The Buchanan County commissioners met with the Missouri Office of Administration during a video call on Oct. 7 to clarify its access to state-owned lakes.
“The bottom line is the state of Missouri said once the lake dries up, it’s not ours anymore,” Presiding Commissioner Scott Nelson said. “It comes under the charge of the county to take care of it and maintain it.”
County Counsel Josh Bachman has worked to get an answer about lake ownership for months. Once the commissioners learned they would have ownership, they requested the Missouri Office of Administration’s statement in writing.
“At the same time, we said (we want a) hard copy,” Nelson said. “Send us a letter so we can put it in the file just so we can answer the question if it ever comes up again.”
In the same meeting, the county commissioners were told they have permission to treat the vegetation at the 300-acre lake.
“If we wanted to go in and mow or cut down the weeds or just let them grow and be a part of a wetland at some time, then we could do that,” Commissioner Ron Hook said. “It’s all under our authority now.”
Buchanan County is considering a product called Clearcast, which was described in a public meeting in August, to clear the weeds. The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Natural Resources both gave the county permission to use the product.
“They have all signed off on that,” Nelson said. “They have no problems with using that product for weed control.”
Clearing the vegetation is a major step that must be completed before deciding to dredge Lake Contrary, but the county has not made that decision yet. Nelson said removing the weeds is their responsibility as a steward in charge of maintaining the lake bed.
“At least, we want to maintain weed control and fire control in our lakes,” he said. “Because if a wildfire gets going, we have residents around there. We don’t want it to get out of control.”
Buchanan County would like to begin treating the weeds by the end of the year.
