EXCITING GRANT OPPORTUNITY

by Mary Bouldin | May 2, 2024

Dear Friends and Neighbors and Supporters of the Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park,

We need your help.

The Mount Mitchell Prairie Guards have been invited by the Kansas Department of Transportation to prepare an application for a federal Transportation Alternatives Grant to build a pedestrian/bike trail from Wamego’s Miller Nature Park on the south bank of the Kansas River to the Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park, a distance of three miles.

The project is a segment of the Flint Hills Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Master Trail Plan for the region between Junction City and Wamego and is called the “Mount Mitchell Connector.” The opportunity to build this trail has come about because the design of the third phase of the K-99 realignment project between I-70 and the city of Wamego hasn’t been completed and the trail can still be included in the design.

Paralleling the highway, the trail will provide safe pedestrian and bike access to the historic Mount Mitchell Heritage Prairie Park, a beloved 164-acre native tallgrass prairie and the location of a trail used by those seeking to escape enslavement on the westernmost route of the Underground Railroad.

The Park is: a Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area Star Attraction; a National Park Service Network to Freedom Site commemorating the Underground Railroad; an auxiliary site of the Brown V. Board National Historic Park and the US Civil Rights Trail. It is also a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places; an auxiliary site of the Kansas River Water Trail; and a featured attraction along the Native Stone Scenic Byway and the Road to Oz. When improvements are completed, the Park will be eligible for inclusion in the Kansas African American History Trail.

TRAIL BENEFITS:

• The Mount Mitchell Connector pedestrian/bike trail will provide safe access to Mount Mitchell for Wamego residents and users of the Kansas River Water Trail.
• It will provide safety for riders on the Canada to Mexico Great Plains Gravel Route.
• Mount Mitchell is an outdoor classroom and museum visited by schoolchildren, residents, and tourists. Providing better access to it helps preserve our heritage and strengthens community identity.
• The scientific basis for nature’s health benefits is now overwhelming. Study after peer-reviewed study has shown that nature exposure is linked to living longer, sleeping better, displaying improved cognitive function, and enjoying lower rates of heart disease, obesity, depression and stress.
• Trails not only provide health and wellness to individuals, they also encourage economic revitalization of communities, protection of the environment, and provide improved quality of life.

Please consider writing a letter of support for this project. Click here to download a sample letter – or a simple statement of support is fine. The grant deadline is fast approaching, so please send your letter ASAP to info@mountmitchellprairie.org or PO Box 136 Wamego, KS 66547!