Ehlmann Praised by State Parks Association for Creating So Many Parks

Whatever else his legacy, County Executive Steve Ehlmann may be remembered most as Mr. Parks-the man who more than doubled the number of county park acres.

Like Teddy Roosevelt setting aside land for the National Park system, Ehlmann has been on a nearly two-decade quest, expanding the county parks system to 4,400 acres-over 1 acre for every 100 county residents.

For all he's done for parks, Ehlmann, was recently given a Public Official Achievement Award from the Missouri Park and Recreation Association.

When Ehlmann took office in 2007, the County parks system, then only 10 years old, consisted of six parks. Ehlmann set a goal of providing as many park-acres-per-person as neighboring St. Louis County, and now St. Charles County has 19 parks filled with trails, lakes, destination playgrounds and historical sites. Three more properties are in reserve for future park development.

Ehlmann credits the effort of the county's Parks Department staff for achieving this progress.

"I may have said that this is my goal-but to make great things happen, you need a great team," says Ehlmann. "(Parks Director) Ryan Graham and all of his staff are that great team. They've put in a lot of work to make this happen."

With this award from the Missouri Park and Recreation Association, Ehlmann joins the ranks of previous recipients who include two Missouri governors, a U.S. senator, St. Charles County Councilman Matt Swanson (when he was a Wentzville alderman), and the previous St. Charles County executive.

St. Charles County still needs more park land to catch up to its neighbor. Ehlmann's goal is to reach that number in the next two years.