Open Space STL

🚨URGENT: The future of the Meramec River needs your voice. 🚨

Tomorrow, September 15 at 9:00 a.m., the Franklin County Commission is scheduled to consider regulations related to data center development, as well as the rezoning of land for two proposed data centers in Franklin County. One proposed development would encompass hundreds of acres along the banks of the Meramec River.

Open Space STL believes decisions of this scale deserve careful consideration and community input, especially when they could affect one of Missouri’s longest rivers and the surrounding watershed.

We encourage Franklin County residents and everyone who values the Meramec River to make their voices heard today.

Please contact the Franklin County Commissioners to request a Community Benefits Agreement that provides opportunities for community input and addresses concerns surrounding the proposed developments. Residents may also wish to share concerns about revisions to data center regulations moving forward without an additional public hearing and the potential impacts of hyperscale data center development on Franklin County’s land, water, and communities.

Franklin County Commissioners:

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

The Franklin County Commission meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, September 15 at 9:00 a.m. Meeting information and the agenda are available franklincounty.org

Please share this information with others who care about protecting the Meramec River and ensuring the public has a voice in decisions that could shape its future.

Our rivers are a shared resource. Decisions affecting them should include the communities that depend on them.

🏓 WHAT A DAY! 🏓

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who came out yesterday for the 2nd Annual Open Space STL Pickleball Tournament! It was a fantastic day of fun, friendship, and some seriously competitive pickleball—all in support of Open Space STL and our work protecting the region’s land and water. 🌿💧

A very special thank you to Chicken N Pickle - St. Charles for their continued support of Open Space STL and nonprofits throughout the St. Louis region. Martha Davis-Goldstein is amazing, and the entire Chicken N Pickle team is simply wonderful to work with and be around. We’re incredibly grateful for your partnership!

👏 Big props to Drew Disko, our tournament director, who kept everything moving and on schedule—and somehow managed to do it all with a smile on his face!

A huge shoutout to Angelica for being such a great supporter of the tournament and to all of her friends who came out to play as part of the South American Pickleball crew. You brought great energy and made the day even more fun!

And what a finish! 🔥

The championship match between Court Chemistry and Costa del D**k was everything you could hope for in a final—competitive, exciting and played by two teams that really stood out throughout the tournament.

🏆 Congratulations to Costa del D**k—Luis and Ellie Costa—for taking home the championship! Well deserved!

Thank you again to everyone who played, volunteered, sponsored, supported and cheered us on. You helped make this tournament a great success and helped raise support for our watershed work, including Operation Clean Stream and Confluence Trash Bash.

👀 Stay tuned—we’ll have an announcement about next year’s tournament coming soon!

And mark your calendars for another way to support Open Space STL:

🍹 Cup Campaign | December 16–30

Head to Chicken N Pickle during those two weeks and enjoy a drink! A percentage of every drink sold will be donated to support Open Space STL.

**k

🌿 NEW STORE. NEW GEAR. SAME GREAT CAUSE. 🌿

Open Space STL has officially launched our brand-new online merchandise store! 🎉

Now you can wear your support for clean water, conservation and our region’s natural spaces wherever you go. 🌎💚

🛍️ Shop official Open Space STL gear, including:

👕 T-shirts
👜 Eco tote bags
🎒 F***y packs
☕ Mugs
🥤 Can coolers
…and more accessories and Open Space STL merchandise!

Every purchase helps support Open Space STL’s mission to conserve and sustain land, water and natural resources throughout the St. Louis region.

Gear up. Give back. Get outside.

👉 Shop the new Open Space STL Market:

open-space-stl-market.myshopify.com

Thank you to Carrson McDaniel for this fantastic write up!

Clean Stream volunteers clean up Big River; 30 bags of trash pulled out The 59th annual Operation Clean Stream was held Aug. 22. Volunteers across the region and in Jefferson County worked to clean up the Meramec River and its tributaries including the Big River.

🏓 ONLY A FEW MORE DAYS TO SIGN UP! 🏓

We’re up to 16 teams for the 2nd Annual Open Space STL Pickleball Tournament—let’s fill the bracket!

Join us on Saturday, September 12 at Chicken N Pickle - St. Charles for:

🏓 Fun times & friendly competition
📍 A great place to play
🍹 Cocktails from Tito’s Handmade Vodka
🎁 Prizes, gift cards & more

🌿 All for a great cause—supporting Open Space STL’s watershed cleanup efforts!

15 teams are in. We want YOU to be next!

Don’t wait—registration is closing soon!

👉 Sign up now: https://www.openspacestl.org/pickleball-tournament

Grab your paddle. Grab a partner. Let’s fill that bracket!