By Libby Page
FIFTY-FOOT BLUFFS, FORESTED VISTAS, AND THE SNAKE-LIKE TWISTS OF WATER THAT STRETCH MORE THATN 100 MILES HAVE BEEN DRAWING ADMIRERS TO THE LAKE OF THE OZARKS FOR GENERATIONS.
However, the lake’s unprecedented growth of the last few years has changed the look of much of that once-pristine shoreline. In many places, forested hillsides have been replaced by a plethora of condos, gas docks, and restaurants, not to mention an explosion of new lakeside homes—with more to come.
Amidst the growth, one section of the lake has stayed green. Lake of the Ozarks State Park encircles more than 80 miles of lakeshore on the lake’s Grand Glaize arm, and in a time of rapid development, it provides the promise of a natural setting for generations to come.
The importance of this forested oasis from the surrounding development is clear today, but the 17,441 acres of natural beauty might not have been possible if not for the dedication and foresight of one man—Joe Jaeger.
Joe Jaeger
Jaeger, 86, came to Lake of the Ozarks just after World War II. He became district forester for the Missouri Conservation Commission and, by 1955, director of the Missouri State Park Board. Ultimately, Jaeger was the longest-tenured state park system director, key in the evolution of the state park system, and father of Lake of the Ozarks State Park.
When he started out, state parks were a novelty, but through determination and hard work he found ways to raise the money needed to create the thriving system that exists today. His blue eyes, still clear and youthful, belie all the change he has witnessed.
He remembers the beginning. Lake of the Ozarks State Park opened in 1946 and was one of three parks in Missouri originally designated as recreation demonstration areas.
“The area had two purposes,” Jaeger says, “to provide recreational opportunities and to take marginal farmland out of production.” He says the second purpose wasn’t always met. “In the beginning local ranchers put cattle in the park land to graze.” Despite slight infringements, the early park was an expansive forest surrounded by farms, more forests, and calm waters.
Fast forward to today, and the water is more turbulentDevelopment
The lake receives around five million visitors each year. The population growth rate in Camden County is 34.8 percent, and residential and commercial construction more than doubled from $20.7 million in 2000 to $44.2 million in 2003.
In Osage Beach, which is the commercial hub of the lake, Mayor Penny Lyons estimates the county’s construction dollars topped $50 million last year. “The majority of our lakefront (Osage Beach) is developed,” Lyons says.
Even without the statistics, the signs of development are everywhere. Candy Wilson, marketing director for the Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, says the area has seen terrific growth in the last two years.
“I’ve lived here since the ’70s,” she says. “Now things look very different; a lot of lakefront businesses have been added.” She also points to the many franchises opening away from the shore. Target, Hy-Vee, and Walgreens are only a few of the dozens of national businesses that have opened since 2003.
But what exactly does this mean for the park?
Growth and the park
Floyd Lee is Lake of the Ozarks State Park’s natural resource manager, and he says as the area grows the park has felt the effects. Light infiltration is the most perceptible change. Light entering the park from the surrounding towns has increased considerably and made starry skies harder to see.
What he says is having more impact, however, is the population change from a formerly seasonal crowd to a year-round flow of visitors. “We’re seeing a shift to a lot more visitors on the shoulder periods, the fall and spring, that surround the summer season,” Lee says.
To keep up with the influx (he estimates more than a million visitors last year), the park has upgraded facilities. Maintenance efforts such as refurbishing trails and clearing roads have to be increased with more visitors coming to the park. “Usage demands are growing,” he says.
Lee has worked at the park since 1991. He enjoys the peaceful setting the state park provides. “It gives you a scenic, more relaxed view; there’s the ability to find solitude on a trail or see the sunset on the lake.”
Lee believes Jaeger had a big effect on the park system, as does B.H. Rucker, 65, who worked with Jaeger for eight years.
Parks champion
“The genius of Joe’s administration is that he found ways to fund growth without federal money,” Rucker says. “He was director at a time when money was tight, but he still added about two dozen new parks.” Jaeger had a knack for negotiating and securing donations and cooperative partnerships to expand and update the parks.
Rucker says Jaeger was passionate about the park system and aggressive when seeking funds. His tenacity pushed Missouri to the forefront of park development in the ’60s.
Rucker remembers Jaeger as demanding and says he’s much mellower these days. Joe’s legacy was assured when in 1999 the state named its training center for park personnel the Joseph Jaeger Academy of State Parks. “It’s nice to be recognized while you’re still alive,” Jaeger says. He was the first to hire a female field employee in Missouri, an accomplishment of which he’s particularly proud.
Jaeger today
Since those days, Jaeger has actually helped contribute to the recent surge of growth in the lake area. As president of the Lake of the Ozarks Community Bridge Corporation, he was instrumental in creating the bridge, which spans the lake from Route HH and U.S. Business 54 on the east to Route MM and the Shawnee Bend peninsula on the west. The bridge has encouraged tremendous growth on the west side, the formerly “quiet side” of the lake.
These days, he still visits lake friends and business associates from his home in Jefferson City.
Jaeger is optimistic about the park and surrounding area. He says the changes he has noticed at the park in the last few years are increased camping and boating. He sees a bright future for the largest state park in Missouri because “there’s just so much land.”