Busch Wildlife | St. Charles, Missouri

Busch Wildlife in St. Charles County, Missouri is one of my favorite local places to take landscape photos. Busch Wildlife consists of 6,987 acres of forest, grassland, cropland, old fields, open prairies, wetlands and over 550 acres of fishable lakes and ponds – all of which can be easily accessed by beautiful, winding gravel roads.

Busch Wildlife is owned by the Missouri Department of Conservation and is known for its hunting, fishing, boat rentals, fishing docks, picnic areas, hiking trails, staffed firearms range, archery range, five viewing blinds and visitor center.

Busch Wildlife Contact Information

Office Number & Hours:
636.441.4554 | 8am-5pm Monday through Friday.

Address:
2360 Highway D
St. Charles, Missouri 63304

Busch Wildlife History

The August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area, also known as Busch Wildlife, was the site for a TNT munitions plant during World War II. As you drive through Busch Wildlife you can see several of the remaining TNT storage bunkers right off the main gravel road. There are still 100 of the storage bunkers scattered throughout the 6,987-acre conservation area.

The August A. Busch Memorial Conservation area was purchased by the Missouri Department of Conservation in 1947 from the federal government. The wife of August A. Busch, Sr. donated a portion of the cost toward the purchase of the area as a memorial to her late husband.

Portions of the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation area were used by the Department of Army for TNT and DNT production during the 1940’s and by the Atomic Energy Commission for uranium ore processing in the 1960’s. All of these areas have been thoroughly cleaned during a federal environmental cleanup project and meet all health and safety standards. If you’re interested in learning more about the production of TNT, DNT and uranium ore processing at the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation area, you can visit the Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center which is located approximately 5 minutes from Busch Wildlife’s main entrance.

Weldon Spring Site Interpretive Center Address:
7295 Highway 94 South
St. Charles, Missouri 63304