Buffalo River watershed management plan meeting set

May 17, 2017

The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, in cooperation with the Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee, has scheduled its third public information meeting regarding the development of the voluntary watershed-based management plan for the Buffalo River Watershed. The meeting will be 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m., June 8 at the Searcy County Civic Center on Zack Road, a little more than a mile off U.S. Highway 65. Attendees should turn north on Zack Road off Highway 65, next to Harps Supermarket, and then drive a half mile and follow Zack Road as it turns west. Drive three-fourths of a mile, and the Civic Center is on the left. The meeting is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

This is the third of four meetings to gather public input and explain the process that will be followed in the development of the non-regulatory watershed-based management plan for the Buffalo River and its tributaries. Summaries of the Dec. 8, 2016, meeting in Marshall and this year’s March 30 Jasper meeting are available at the www.Arkansaswater.org site by accessing the link to the summaries.

Purposes of the upcoming Marshall meeting include:

1. Summarize the results of the Jasper meeting;

2. Provide results from the additional analyses suggested by stakeholders at the Jasper

meeting;

3. Present suggested management goals, costs and benefits of implementing the suggested, and additional, management practices in the highest ranked watersheds;

4. Provide information on agencies, organizations, and educational institutions that offer

technical and financial assistance to stakeholders interested in voluntarily implementing

management practices; and

5. Describe the next steps in the planning process.

At the direction of Governor Asa Hutchinson, the BBRAC was organized to establish an Arkansas led approach to identify and address potential issues of concern in the Buffalo River watershed through the development of a non-regulatory watershed based management plan. The process should be completed by June of 2018. The result of the plan will provide a framework for landowners, communities, and organizations to voluntarily undertake water quality projects in the watershed and improve the ability to solicit and secure funding and assistance from various government and private sources. For more information, contact Terry Horton at 501-225‑7779, twh@ftn-assoc.com.