Why Larry and Brenda Potterfield donated more than 160 acres to The Nature Conservancy

Lauren Tronstad, Columbia Daily Tribune
·3 min read
Larry and Brenda Potterfield pose for a photo near the boat ramp at The Station House at Katfish Katy's at 8825 W. Sarr St. in Huntsdale on Wednesday. The Potterfields have donated more than 160 acres, including The Station House, along the Missouri River to The Nature Conservancy for a research, conservation and recreation area that will be open to the public and operated in partnership with Missouri River Relief.

HUNTSDALE — A stretch of land that reaches over the edge of a cliff, overlooking the Missouri River, marks the more than 160-acre donation to The Nature Conservancy from Larry and Brenda Potterfield.

The land is intended to become a place for the public to connect to Missouri's landscapes and serve as a site for research and conservation.

It will be operated in partnership with Missouri River Relief.

The property at 8825 W. Sarr St. is located on land that includes The Station House at Katfish Katy's and sits on a stretch between the Missouri River and Katy Trail. The restaurant permanently closed in January.

"We are thrilled by the generosity of the Potterfields," Adam McLane, state director of The Nature Conservancy, told the Tribune on Wednesday. "Donations like this form the backbone of our organization."

More: Missouri River Relief celebrates 20 years of connecting people to the Big Muddy

The Potterfields own Midway USA, a firearms and shooting supplies retailer headquartered in Columbia.

They purchased the riverfront property in 2016 after receiving a call from a realtor on behalf of the previous owners looking to sell.

The couple reached out to The Nature Conservancy and 10 other organizations about the possibility of donating the property. After narrowing it down to three, agencies met out at the property to discuss potential plans for using the land.

Ultimately, The Nature Conservancy was awarded the donation.

The deal closed last Friday.

"We are fortunate enough that we can afford to give stuff away," Larry Potterfield said during an interview at the property Wednesday afternoon. "We thought, 'If you give it away to the right people, you can contribute something to the community that they could never get any other way.'"

The Nature Conservancy plans to conduct high-quality restoration of natural habitats across the property, likely to include stabilizing the riverbank with natural materials and plantings, rejuvenating on-site wetlands and planting native vegetation, McLane said.

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Missouri River Relief intends to use the property as a base of operations to engage the community with the Missouri River and help care for it. A boat ramp that was previously used exclusively for memberships will now be open to the public.

"For many years, Missouri River Relief has dreamed of a location on the Missouri River we could use for a permanent base for education, recreation and stewardship programs," MRR development manager Lisa Cole wrote in an email to the Tribune. "... Our whole mission is driven by our passion for connecting people to the Missouri River and providing direct experiences with this beautiful and powerful place."

The two organizations will continue to work together to build a vision that celebrates the river and provides public access to explore and learn about the area, Cole wrote.

Now that the land has been donated, the Potterfields do not have any intention to maintain control over the future of the property.

"It's there's now," the couple agreed.

Lauren Tronstad covers local government and politics for the Tribune. Contact her at LTronstad@gannett.com or on Twitter @LaurenTronstad.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: The Nature Conservancy receives over 160-acre donation