Cuivre River State Park (Lincoln County)

Site Description
The rough topography of Cuivre River State Park was historically in mixed hardwood forest, glades, and woodland (Nigh and Schroeder 2002). The area is still predominantly
Cuivre River State Park IBA forested uplands and bottomland, interspersed with small tracts of tallgrass prairie, savanna, old fields, and glades. The landscape surrounding the IBA is otherwise devoid of native vegetation. All of the Cuivre River State Park IBA is entirely contained in the state park of its namesake (Missouri Department of Natural Resources ).

Ornithological Summary
Cuivre River State Park provides a large block of forest that serves as migratory-stopover and breeding habitat for numerous forest bird species, including species of concern like the Cerulean Warbler (observed during breeding dates), Wood Thrush, and Worm-eating Warbler. Additionally, the more open habitats found on the SP contain species such as the Blue-winged Warbler, Northern Bobwhite, and Prairie Warbler.

Conservation Issues
Cuivre River State Park is protected state land, which is becoming increasingly important given the rapid growth of the nearby St. Louis / St. Charles metropolitan area to the southeast. The IBA is embedded within the larger Cuivre River Hills Conservation Opportunity Area (MDC 2005), which will focus on restoration of tallgrass prairie, savanna, and woodland habitats that have vanished from that landscape. Prescribed burns are occasionally conducted in the park. As with many other woodland/forest fragments in Missouri, invasion of non-native shrub honeysuckle is a major concern within the park.