ALTON, Mo. (AP) - Missouri is looking at more than 4,000 acres in the southern portion of the state for a new state park, but it's not without opposition.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the proposed park would be along the Eleven Point River in Oregon County near the Arkansas border. The land includes a portion of a ranch where the Beatles stayed during their first U.S. tour.
The newspaper says nearly $11 million from settlements with lead-mining companies will pay for the land, which will be deeded to the state Department of Natural Resources.
The money also will cover the purchase of approximately 1,100 acres near Johnson's Shut-Ins State Park and smaller parcels totaling 200 acres.
Opponents say the money should be saved for cleanups in mining-impacted southeastern Missouri communities.
Republican Rep. Linda Black said the park would divert valuable resources from the communities that have been most effective.
"Now, with the pot dwindling, the hopes of the impacted area actually being restored and remediated seem to be slipping away," she said.
John Weber, who heads the project for the Fish and Wildlife Service, said there was still $35.6 million left for southeastern Missouri restoration projects. Several projects in areas such as St. Francois and Madison counties that have been delayed because the Environmental Protection Agency still has to do large cleanups in the areas. Webster hopes those projects can be funded within the next year and started by 2017.
Oregon County Commissioner Patrick Ledgerwood said the purchase amounted to the loss of more property tax revenue, and he does not expect any tourism benefits from the new park.
"This place is out absolutely in the middle of nowhere, nowhere near any of our towns," Ledgerwood said.