A roughly 30-year plan to preserve the rural nature of Boone County was presented to the Boone County Commission this morning.

The Boone County Smart Growth Coalition prepared the plan, which incorporates suggestions from six state and county groups and asks that the county look at 61 Boone County sites as possible areas for preservation.

"I thought a lot of work went into this," Northern Commissioner Skip Elkin said. "I thought it was a good deal."

Purchasing the Philips property, one of the largest privately owned tracts in Boone County, and preserving the corridor between Rock Bridge State Park and Three Creeks Conservation Area were two of the groups’ 61 suggestions for preservation. The groups differed in their recommendations, and the suggestions span a wide range, from large-scale endeavors such as buying the Philips property to special designations limiting further development.

A complete list of the sites and suggestions was submitted for the public record, and the coalition expects to submit a map of the areas to the county later this week.

Tom Vernon, the coalition member who presented the plan, said the group believes public hearings throughout Boone County might be the best way to proceed.

For the list already assembled, the coalition asked the Sierra Club, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Boone County Historical Society and others to submit sites they believe could benefit from preservation efforts. The group decided at a meeting with the county’s Board of Parks Commissioners that it would seek broader recommendations from other groups and the public at large.

The coalition is eager to help develop proposals outlining what to do and how to do it, Vernon said.

"The next step obviously would be, hopefully would be, the county commissioners and the county parks commissioners would be able to carry forward," Vernon told the commissioners, adding the coalition would be back in six months if county officials fail to move forward with the proposal.

No one has calculated the possible cost of the preservation effort; Presiding Commissioner Don Stamper said he could not "even comprehend" what it might be. "It’s an enormous process," he said, adding the coalition’s efforts ease the county’s workload.

Stamper said preserving the Philips tract, in particular, is important but acquiring it is not a county priority. "I’ve always thought the Philips tract would make a wonderful park," he said. "I think it’s a good idea. I just wonder if we can afford it."