HANNIBAL — Hannibal Parks and Recreations will start a master plan project for the Sodalis Nature Preserve. In a short meeting Tuesday, Parks and Recreation Director Andy Dorian told the Hannibal City Council Sodalis has attracted several hundred thousand dollars from multiple national and state sources. Since the preserve's inception, the combined efforts of the U.
S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Missouri Department of Conservation, the Conservation Fund and the Iowa Natural Heritage Foundation have preserved the park's abandoned mine — a home to over 200,000 endangered bats. Recently, a $100,000 grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation allowed for the addition of a pavilion to the park, serving ever-increasing numbers of visitors — from local to international.
“It’s kind of a worldwide known park now,” Dorian said. “We have a direct partnership with the U.S.
Fish and Wildlife Service, The Conservation Fund and the Department of Conservation on the Indiana Bat, the Gray Bat, and several of the other bats here. (It) is the largest single spot of hibernating Indiana Bats in the world. So, from a scientific standpoint, we have scientists coming from all over the world all the time trying new research techniques.
“One of the (sources) of funding that we're working with right now is with the Missouri Conservation Heritage Foundation. They were able to work with the federal government and get some money to work on the species habitat in the park: working.