Wilson's Creek National Battlefield 

Missouri 

National Park Service 

U.S. Department of the Interior 

Draft General Management Plan 

Environmental Impact Statement 

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield 
Draft

General Management Plan

Environmental Impact Statement

April 2002

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield  Missouri 

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield is about 10 

miles south of the city of Springfield, Missouri, 

on the boundary between Greene and Christian 

Counties in the southwestern corner of the state. 

The park encompasses 1,750 acres, which 

includes 75% of the actual battlefield. The park 

was established on April 22, 1960, in order to 

preserve and commemoratethe Battle of 

Wilson’s Creek, the site ofthe second battle of 

the Civil War and the first major battle west of 

the Mississippi River. The park contains 50 

archeological sites, many of which are associated with the battle, as well as a number of 

historic structures, cultural landscapes, and 

artifacts related to the battle. At the time of the 

battle, the valley of Wilson’s Creek was a 

thriving agricultural area with several farms and 

the homes of numerous families. Only a few 

remnants of this agricultural community remain. 

The purpose of this Draft General Management 

Plan/Environmental Impact Statement is to 

outline the specific resource conditions and 

visitor experiences desirable for the park and to 

propose alternate management strategies for 

achieving these goals. The Draft General 

Management Plan/Environmental Impact 

Statement will provide a framework to guide 

park management decision-making for the next 

15 to 20 years. The plan presents three management alternatives for resource protection and 

visitor experience of the park.Two action 

alternatives are compared with the no-action 

alternative (alternative A), or continuation of 

existing conditions. 

• Alternative B – Wilson’s Creek 

Battlefield Commemoration (Preferred 

Alternative). Under this alternative, park 

management would focus on effortsto 

commemorate the Battle of Wilson’s Creek 

and emphasize a reflective and contemplative visitor experience. Recreational use 

would be allowed but would be managed so 

as not to conflict with the core mission of 

the park orthe primary visitor experience. 

•	 Alternative C – Wilson’s Creek Civil War 

Research Center. Under this alternative, 

park management would focus on Wilson 

Creek’s distinctive combination of site 

integrity and artifact and archival collections 

in developing the park as an outstanding 

research center. 

Scoping and public participation have been 

integral to this planning process. You may send 

comments on this document to the following 

address: 

Superintendent Richard A. Lusardi 

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield 

6424 West Farm Road 182 

Republic, MO 65738 

For further information about this document, 

please contact Gary Sullivan, Chief of Resource 

Management Wilson’s Creek National 

Battlefield, at 417.732.2662 x286. 

United States Department of the Interior  National Park Service 
SUMMARY

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield 

preserves a place of great significance to the 

history of the Civil War, the site of the war’s 

second major battle and the first fought west 

of theMississippi River. The park’s 1,750 

acres encompass 75 percent of the ground 

where, on August 10, 1861, 5,400 Union 

troops under General Nathaniel Lyon 

clashed in a brutal fight with 12,000 Confederate and Missouri State Guard soldiers 

under Generals Benjamin McCulloch and 

Sterling Price. 

PURPOSE OF AND NEED FOR THE 

GENERAL MANAGEM ENT PLAN 

The general management plan is the primary 

planning document for the National Park 

Service. The management planning process 

describes specific desirable resource 

conditions and visitor experiences for the 

park, assesses alternate management 

strategies for achieving these goals, and 

provides a framework to guide park 

management decision-making for the next 

15 to 20 years. 

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield has 

operated under the 1977 Master Plan. Since 

completion of the plan, the park and surrounding region have changed significantly. 

The visitor center and the tour-road loop 

both were constructed in the wake of the 

Master Plan. The population of the 

Springfield metropolitan area grew from 

207,704 to 240,593 between 1980 and 1990, 

and increased to 281,767 by 1995. The 

population of Greene County increased from 

152,928 to 218,095 between 1970 and 1995; 

that of Christian County grew from 15,124 

to 38,433 in the same period. Regional 

population growth increases the potential for 

additional visitors and impacts on the park’s 

cultural and natural resources. These and 

other issues requiring management action, 

such as reconciling recreational use with the 

park’s core mission, the impacts of 

encroaching suburban development, 

battlefield rehabilitation, resource management, and the need for regional cooperative 

planning, have been identified in consultation with park staff, local agencies, and the 

general public. 

Both park staff and the general public 

expressed their desires for the park’s future 

condition, which largely dovetail with the 

issues stated above. The identified future 

conditions include increased rehabilitation 

of the battlefield landscape, coordinated 

strategies for cultural and natural resource 

management, developing partnerships with 

neighboring landowners, coordinating park 

and regional planning, identifying recreational alternatives to Wilson’s Creek 

National Battlefield, and ensuring that all 

visitors understand the significance of the 

national battlefield. 

PURPOSE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF 

WILSON’S CREEK NATIONAL 

BATTLEFIELD 

During the first work sessions for the 

management plan, park planners refined the 

purpose and significance statements for the 

park. Based on a review of the park’s 

enabling legislation and the professional 

expertise of park staff, National Park 

Service historians, and other subject matter 

experts, the park purpose and three 

significant topics were identified: 

Purpose 

 The purpose of Wilson’s Creek 

National Battlefield is to 

commemorate the Battle of Wilson’s 

iii 
Creek and to preserve the associated 

battlefield. 

Significance 

 Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield 

is significant as the site of the second 

battle of the Civil War and the first 

major battle west of theMississippi 

River. 

 Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield 

is the site of the death of General 

Nathaniel Lyon, the first Union 

general killed in the Civil War. 

Lyon’s death focused national 

attention on the potential loss of 

Missouri to the Confederacy. 

 Wilson’s Creek’s rural character 

evokes the setting experienced by the 

combatants. 

ALTERNATIVES 

The management alternatives describe 

overall management concepts and the 

alternate ways in which the management 

prescriptions would be applied to the park. 

Management Prescriptions 

The management prescriptions, or 

management areas, identify how different 

areas in the park would be managed to 

achieve a combination of desired resource 

conditions and visitor experiences. The 

following are the management areas 

designed for Wilson’s Creek National 

Battlefield: 

 Visitor Services and Administration 

 Interpretive Focus 

 Battlefield Landscape Enhancement 

 Resource Preservation 

 Landscape Maintenance 

These management areas would be applied 

to the entire park, but the locations and size 

of each management area would depend on

the overall emphasis of each alternative.

Table 1, Management Prescriptions and

Identified Management Alternatives,

provides an overview of the management

areas and the three alternatives identified to

manage park resources and visitor

experiences.

FORMULATION OF ALTERNATIVES 

The management alternatives, including the 

preferred alternative, were developed with 

NPS staff based on the issues or concerns, 

desired future conditions, and visitor 

experiences articulated by the general 

public, NPS staff, subject matter specialists, 

park users, and neighboring landowners. 

The alternatives describe overall 

management concepts and the alternative 

ways in which the management 

prescriptions would be applied to the park. 

ALTERNATIVE A — 

NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE 

Management under this alternative would 

follow the 1977 Master Plan to manage and 

protect the park’s cultural and natural 

resources. The current levels and types of 

recreational uses, including horseback 

riding, bicycling, running, and walking, 

would be allowed. The interpretive program 

would continue to offer both self-guided 

tours and park ranger-led programs that 

explain the Battle of Wilson’s Creek and the 

Civil War in Missouri. Rehabilitation of the 

battlefield landscape would continue on a 

limited scale, as staffing and funding permit. 

Park maintenance would continue to 

undertake measures to control the spread of 

exotic and noxious plants and protect the 

threatened and endangered species found 

within the park boundaries. 

Interpretive programs, including guided 

tours and demonstrations, would continue to 

iv 
focus on tour groups, school groups, and 

visitors who make Wilson’s Creek National 

Battlefield a destination stop. Improvements 

would be made to the interpretive program 

to enhance information provided to the 

visitors. Visitor services and interpretive 

programs would not be expanded to address 

recreational users. The park boundaries 

would not be adjusted under the no-action 

alternative. 

ALTERNATIVE B — WILSON’S CREEK 

BATTLEFIELD COMMEMORATION 

(PREFERRED ALTERNATIV E) 

Management under this alternative would 

focus on efforts to honor the memory of the 

Battle of Wilson’s Creek through an array of 

interpretive and educational experiences that 

inform visitors of the special nature of 

Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. The 

park interpretive programs would emphasize 

a reflective and contemplative visitor 

experience that captures the site’s unique 

qualities and its status as hallowed ground 

dedicated to sacrifice for principles and the 

human and social costs of the Civil War. 

Park management would work with local 

schools, museums, and universities, as well 

as officials and agencies from the cities of 

Springfield, Battlefield, and Republic, and 

Greene and Christian Counties, in 

communicating to the public the meaning 

and significance of the park’s history and 

resources. 

Interpretation would be a major focus in the 

park. New interpretive displays would be 

designed to enhance the visitor’s experience. 

Park ranger-led programs would occur along 

interpretive trails or at interpretive sites. 

Other experiences would be self-directed. 

Visitors using new park maps and brochures 

would follow the tour-road loop to important 

sites where interpretive signs would provide 

information about the events that occurred at 

those locations. Marked trails would guide 

and inform visitors about the important 

resources at each site. New and existing 

trails in the park would be developed or 

realigned along the routes of historical trails 

and traces whenever possible in order to 

strengthen all visitors’ connection to the 

historical scene. Planning for the interpretive 

program would emphasize aesthetically 

compatible media that are discrete and 

unobtrusive. 

Preserving and retaining the historic 

character of the cultural landscape would be 

a priority; 718 acres, or 41 percent of the 

park, would be located in the Battlefield 

Landscape Enhancement zone, where 

visitors could envision the events of August 

10, 1861. Data compiled in the draft cultural 

landscape report would enhance park 

management’s effort to preserve the 

landscape’s historic character. Recreational 

use would be allowed, but managed so as 

not to detract from the park mission, visitor 

experience, and efforts toward landscape 

rehabilitation. Horseback riding would be 

allowed only on designated trails as long as 

this use did not impact the experience for 

other visitors. Passive recreational activities 

such as hiking would be allowed in the 

interpretive focus area. Equestrian use 

would be allowed along the Wire Road, 

which is located in the interpretive focus 

area. Additional services, such as 

interpretive information and park ranger-led 

tours, would not be developed for 

recreational users. 

Visitor access would be allowed in areas 

with sensitive resources such as 

archeological sites or threatened and 

endangered species habitat, either with 

guided tours or self-guided interpretive 

trails. 

v 
Park management would monitor levels of 

recreational use for potential impacts on 

resources or the visitor experience. When 

conflicts occurred, park management would 

limit recreational use wherever and to 

whatever degree necessary to ensure the 

visitors’ ability to contemplate and 

appreciate of the park’s history and 

significance. 

Park management would cooperate with 

agencies and officials from the cities of 

Springfield, Battlefield, and Republic, and 

Greene and Christian Counties in their longrange regional planning efforts. These 

planning efforts would focus on both 

regional and park issues, seeking solutions 

to the impacts of increased suburban growth, 

transportation development, and visual 

intrusions along the park’s boundaries. The 

landscape maintenance zone would include 

much of the park’s perimeter within the 

boundary. Vegetation management in this 

area would help mitigate impacts resulting 

from visual and auditory intrusions. 

Park staff would work to resolve conflicts 

that arose over management activities, 

visitor access, and proposed activities and 

developments on adjacent lands that could 

affect Wilson’s Creek. 

NPS managers would seek understanding 

and cooperation with landowners to 

encourage management of their lands in a 

manner compatible with park purposes. NPS 

staff would also seek waysto provide 

landowners with technical and management 

assistance to address issues of mutual 

interest. The NPS would work closely with 

local, state, and federal agencies whose 

programs affect or are affected by activities 

at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. 

ALTERNATIVE C — WILSON’S CREEK 

CIVIL WAR RESEARCH CENTER 

Alternative C would focus on a distinctive 

combination of Wilson’s Creek National 

Battlefield’s outstanding site integrity and 

vast archival collection to develop the park 

as a major research center focusing on the 

Civil War in Missouri, Arkansas, Kansas, 

and other areas west of theMississippi 

River. 

Historical and scientific research in support 

of resource preservation, rehabilitation, and 

interpretation of the park’s history and significance would be the management focus 

for this alternative. Historical, archeological, 

genealogical, and biological research in park 

archives and at significant resource sites 

would be encouraged. These research activities would have the potential of providing 

additional information on the park’s history 

and significance and thus enhancing the visitor experience. The park would work with 

universities and state agencies in developing 

strategies for managing its collection, outlining archival research guidelines, and 

establishing protocols for archeological 

investigations. These research programs 

would enhance interpretive efforts to inform 

and educate park visitors and develop 

educational outreach programs for the local 

communities. Internet technology would be 

used to facilitate research, interpretation, 

and outreach programs. 

Park staff trained in archival management 

would assist professional and nonprofessional researchers in the research 

library and with park collections. School 

groups, tour groups, and other park visitors 

would be encouraged to visit significant 

cultural and natural resource areas and 

research sites whenever appropriate. These 

sites would be interpreted to explain 

methods of data recovery and how these 

vi 
efforts ultimately would contribute to a 

better understanding of the battlefield. 

Less than 10 percent of the park, 139 acres, 

would be included in the Battlefield 

Landscape Enhancement area. This is the 

smallest amount for this area under the three 

alternatives. Only selected primary sites of 

the battlefield landscape would be 

designated for treatments that would retain 

and preserve the battlefield’s historic 

character. This reduced emphasis on 

landscape enhancement would enable park 

staff to focus efforts on interpretive and 

educational programs and on assisting 

researchers. Archeological, historical, and 

biological research potentially could provide 

additional data and guidance for future 

landscape enhancement. As research efforts 

provided more information about the 

battlefield landscape, park management may 

wish to consider negotiating cooperative 

agreements with neighboring landowners to 

maintain the integrity of the surrounding 

landscape that were critical to the battle. 

Recreational uses, including horseback 

riding, bicycling, running, and walking, 

would be allowed and managed so as not to 

impede visitors who wished to focus on the 

history and significance of Wilson’s Creek. 

Research involving highly significant 

resources, such as archeological sites or 

threatened and endangered species would 

occur in the resource preservation area. 

Recreational use in this area would be 

limited to hiking and walking. 

A total of 726 acres, or 41 percent of the 

park, would be zoned for landscape 

maintenance. Park management would 

monitor levels of recreational use or 

research activities for potential impacts on 

resources or on visitors’ ability to 

contemplate the significance and meaning of 

the battle. Where conflicts occur, park 

management would limit recreational use to 

ensure the visitors’ ability to contemplate 

and appreciate the park’s significance. 

Park management would cooperate with 

agencies and officials from the cities of 

Springfield, Battlefield, and Republic, and 

Greene and Christian Counties in their longrange regional planning efforts. These 

planning efforts would focus both on 

regional and park issues, seeking solutions 

to the impacts of increased suburban growth, 

transportation development, and visual 

intrusions on the park’s boundaries. The 

landscape maintenance zone would include 

much of the park exterior. Vegetation 

management in this area would help mitigate 

impacts resulting from visual and auditory 

intrusions. 

Park staff would work to resolve conflicts 

that arose over their activities, visitor access, 

and proposed activities and developments on 

adjacent lands that could affect the battlefield. NPS managers would seek understanding and cooperation with landowners to 

encourage management of their lands in a 

manner compatible with park purposes. NPS 

staff would also seek waysto provide 

landowners with technical and management 

assistance to address issues of mutual 

interest. The NPS would work closely with 

local, state, and federal agencies whose 

programs affect or are affected by activities 

at Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield. 

Boundary Assessment 

The Arizona Desert Act (PL 101-628 § 

1216) directs the secretary of the interior to 

develop criteria to evaluate any proposed 

changes to the existing boundaries of 

individual park units. Those criteria are to 

include 

•	 analysis of whether the existing boundary provides for the adequate protection 

vii 
and preservation of the natural, historic, 

cultural, scenic, and recreational resources integral to the unit 

•	 an evaluation of each parcel proposed 

for addition or deletion based on this 

analysis 

•	 an assessment of the impact of potential 

boundary adjustments taking into consideration the factors listed above as well 

as the effect of the adjustments on the 

local communities and surrounding areas 

Boundary adjustments may be 

recommended to 

•	 protect significant resources and values, 

or to enhance opportunities for public 

enjoyment related to park purposes 

•	 address operational and management 

issues, such as the need for access or the 

need for boundaries to correspond to 

logical boundary delineations such as 

topographic or other natural features or 

roads 

•	 otherwise protect park resources that are 

critical to fulfilling park purposes 

As part of the general management planning 

process, the NPS has identified and 

evaluated boundary adjustments that may be 

necessary or desirable to carry out the 

purposes of the park. 

All recommendations for boundary changes 

must meet the following two criteria: 

1) The added lands will be feasible to 

administer, considering their size, 

configuration, ownership, the 

presence of hazardous substances or 

exotic species, costs, impacts on 

local communities, etc. 

2) Other alternatives for management 

and resource protection are not 

adequate. 

The NPS must identify and use, to the 

maximum extent possible, alternatives to the 

direct federal purchase of privately owned 

lands. The NPS can acquire only the 

minimum necessary to achieve management 

objectives, and it can cooperate with 

landowners, other federal agencies, tribal, 

state, and local governments, and the private 

sector to manage land for public use or 

protect it for resource conservation. 

The authorized boundary of Wilson’s Creek 

National Battlefield encompasses 1,750 

acres, approximately 75 percent of the actual 

combat areas associated with the Battle of 

Wilson’s Creek. Some lands significant to 

the battle lie outside the park boundary. For 

a full description of these lands and the ways 

in which they would be applied under the 

alternatives, please see the “Adequacy of 

Park Boundaries” and the “Boundary 

Adjustments and Land Protection” sections 

in chapter 1. 

Environmental Consequences 

The National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) requires environmental documents 

to disclose the environmental impacts of all 

reasonable alternatives and any adverse 

environmental effects that cannot be avoided 

should the preferred alternative be 

implemented. Table 4, Summary of Impacts, 

summarizes the impacts of the alternatives, 

including the no-action alternative, on 

cultural resources; visitor experience and 

aesthetic resources; natural resources; social 

and economic environment; and park access 

and transportation. Please see chapter 4, 

“Environmental Consequences,” for a 

detailed analysis of the impacts of the 

management alternatives. 

viii 
 TABLE 1. MANAGEMENT PRESCRIPTIONS AND IDENTIFIED MANAGEMENT ALTERNATIVES

Alternativ e A – No Action 

Continuation of Existing Conditions 

Alternativ es/Management 

Prescriptions 

Alternativ e B – 

Battlefield Commemoration 

Alternativ e C – 

Civil War Research Center 

VISITOR SERVICES /ADMINISTRATION 

 Primary visitor contact points 

 Equestrian parking moved to site near 

visitor center 

 Construct addition to visitor center for 

library and artifacts 

 Primary visitor contact points 

 Convert overflow equestrian parking to 

permanent site 

 Construct addition to visitor center for 

research library and artifacts 

INTERPRE TIVE FOCUS 

 T our-Road Loop: managed to maintain 

park mission and visitor experience. May 

result in limiting types and levels of use 

 Eliminate equestrian staging on tour-road 

loop

 New trails—follow historic traces  Wire Road open for pedestri an and 

equestrian use 

 Add park ranger-led interpretive walks 

and special events 

 New trails—follow historic traces 

 Wire Road open for pedestri an and 

equestrian use 

 T rails open for hi king, running, and 

walking

 Add park ranger-l ed interpretive walks 

and special events 

 T our road open for auto touring and biking 

 Eliminate equestrian staging on tour-road 

loop 

BA TTLEFIELD LANDSCAPE ENHANCEMENT 

 Retai n and enhance the general 

appearance of the battlefield landscape 

 Rehabilitation priority established 

 Historic character of Sharp farmstead and 

fields retained and enhanced 

 Enhancement of Bloody Hill and other 

signifi cant areas of the battlefiel d will be deferred pending the results of more 

extensive research 

RESOURCE PRESERVATION 

 Limited visitor access and recreation 

activities (hiking) accommodated within 

context of park purpose. Where conflicts 

occur, deci si ons favor resource protecti on 

 Missouri bladderpod glades habitat 

restored 

 Sensitive cultural resource sites protected 

 Limited recreation activities (hiking) 

permitted if compatible with research 

activi ties. Controll ed vi si tor access to 

sensitive sites 

 Research efforts encouraged i n park 

archives and library

 Research protocol developed in 

cooperation with local academic 

community 

 Archeological and natural resource 

research efforts will be interpreted as part 

of the visitor experience 

 Missouri bladderpod glades habitat 

restored 

Management areas will not be applied in 

continuation of existing conditions. T he 

current management actions are described 

below:  Tour-road loop open for biking, running, 

and walking

 Recreational uses: hiking, walking, 

picnicking, jogging, bicycling, and 

horseback riding. Allowed to maximum 

extent possible. 

 Primary equestrian staging on tour-road 

loop

 Continue use of overflow equestrian 

parking

 Construct addition to visitor center for 

research library and artifacts 

 Park ranger-led interpretive walks and 

programs at Ray House and Bloody Hill 

 Trails open for hiking, running, and 

walking

 No new trails 

 Wire Road open for pedestrian and 

equestrian use 

 No expansion of designated equestrian 

trails 

 Continue rehabilitation of battlefield 

landscape as funds and staffing permit 

 Missouri bladderpod glades habitat 

restored 

 Control vi si tor access to sensi ti ve si tes 

LANDSCAPE MAINTENANCE 

 Manage i nvasi ve speci es 

 Screen visual and auditory intrusions 

 Limited potential for expansion of 

designated equestrian trails 

 Landscape maintenance area available 

for equestrian use 

 Potential expansion of designated 

equestrian trails 

ix