Ken and Elizabeth Babcock Conservation Easement

At approximately 381 acres, the Ken and Elizabeth Babcock Conservation Easement is by far the largest of Greenbelt’s protected properties.

Located near Jamestown in Moniteau County, the land covered by the Babcock Conservation Easement is predominantly woodland, most of which is second-growth oak-hickory forest, although a portion of the land is open grassland that has largely been cleared of non-native species and replanted with native prairie grasses. The wooded areas provide habitat for bats, while the grasslands serve as habitat for numerous upland bird species. The property is located less than 2 miles west of the Missouri River and is in the Moniteau Creek/Little Moniteau Creek watershed, with several intermittent streams that flow into Moniteau Creek and Haldiman Branch. There are also three sinkhole ponds on the property, which contains visible areas of karst topography.

Ken and Betsy Babcock acquired the property in stages beginning in 1987 and continue to reside on the property. The Babcocks donated a conservation easement on the land to Greenbelt in 2016.