January 2021 - Parks & Recreation - 44

P R A C H T W E T L A N D S PA R K

and dark. It was a spectacular sight
and such a striking experience for
me, " says Kim Chapman, describing his first visit to Pracht Wetlands
Park, a critically important habitat
and preserve located in Northwest
Wichita, Kansas.
The incomparably tranquil and
stunning landscape is in stark contrast to the action popping up all
around it: an intersection of busy
roadways, tourists at the neighboring hotel and big-box store shoppers. In the midst of the bustling
city, this sanctuary offers a respite
for patrons to come immerse themselves in its natural beauty.

Brief History
Colloquially known as " Cadillac Lake, " a 300-acre site of shallow ponds was once a waterfowl
hotspot used by the salesmen of a
local Cadillac dealership to take cli-

ents duck hunting. The Pracht family originally purchased the land in
1921 for its presence of abundant
wildlife and constructed dikes to
maintain water levels during dry
seasons. But as the city spread from
the urban core into suburbs, hunting on the property diminished
due to sprawling developments.
The pond was deepened in 1952
when soil was taken to elevate the
construction of a nearby road. In
2014, a developer purchased the
land from the Pracht family for major commercial expansion, including retail, restaurants and a hotel.
Forty-one of those acres, which are
contiguous with adjoining property
acquired by the City of Wichita in
2009, were donated by the developer for the purpose of creating
a public park to honor the family
that owned the land for nearly 100
years. All this time, the wetlands
had not been drained, removed
nor developed. Years of using the
site for stormwater management to
protect nearby developments compromised the quality of the habitat,
but also preserved the site for what
would become a rare, one-of-akind urban wetland environment
- Pracht Wetlands Park.

Preservation Eﬀorts
Midwestern farm belt states account
for more than 36 million acres, or
one-third, of wetlands lost since the
country was first colonized. Sixty-thousand acres of wetlands are
lost annually. This disappearance is
one of the greatest environmental
losses our nation faces today. According to the Environmental ProIn the early 1990s, a task force of
government agencies, landowners and
private busineses created a plan for the
site of Pracht Wetlands Park to become
a recreational and educational resource
for the community.
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tection Agency, about 50 percent of
threatened or endangered animal
species in the United States depend on wetlands for their survival.
Habitat deterioration isn't the only
concern, however. In the already
low-lying Arkansas River, water
management at Pracht Wetlands
is crucial for the ecological protection of the park and throughout the
entire city. It prevents damage from
flooding and acts as a natural filter for runoff contaminants before
passing into the groundwater or
Arkansas River. Water flows into
the site from a watershed of more
than 2,000 acres, providing habitat
for more than 160 wildlife species,
including 94 species of birds.
Outside efforts to transform the
privately owned duck hunting venue and preserve the site for public
use started with a task force of
government agencies, landowners
and private businesses during the
early 1990s. With the near-certain
fate of becoming either a housing
development or stormwater detention basin, the task force created a
comprehensive plan for the site as
a recreational and educational resource for the community. Local
environmentalists and enthusiasts
rallied public support and began
the search for funds to purchase the
land. For years, this project lay in
wait of the perfect circumstances.
Opportunity struck nearly 25 years
later when Slawson Companies offered the property adjacent to their
budding development. All of the
groundwork established in the '90s
was set into action with no time to
waste. With environmental stress
already evident by the water quality,
actions to reverse the adverse effects
of development were necessary. In
addition to the donation of the property, Slawson also hired Professional
Engineering Consultants to develop

January 2021 - Parks & Recreation

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