Pack and Paddle
Fall 2000

This year's Ozark Society Colorado trip turned out to be a true adventure -- in every sense of the word. Thirty-seven society members from Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas and Missouri met Sunday afternoon, July 23rd at Cascade Campground, amidst the many 14,000-foot peaks of the Collegiate Peaks area.
Our base camp was located about 18 miles north of Salida and 8 miles south of Buena Vista -- 10 miles deep into the mountains.

Due to uncontrollable events, the organization of this year's trip fell upon the capable shoulders of the Bayou Chapter's Catherine Hill at zero hour -- without advance warning. And she did us proud, handling crisis after crisis, managing to not pull any hairs out in the process (both her own and those of a few select others). Bayou Chapter members who made the trip were Dick and Judy Davis, David and Karen Pitts, Jack Land, Sharon DeCarlo, and Catherine's daughter and son-in-law, Jeff and Leslie Crow from Houston.

Monday's agenda included a rafting trip down the Arkansas River through Brown's Canyon. Those of us lucky enough to be in the "holy" (and I don't mean blessed!!) raft had no clue of what awaited us. We had to stop 4 or 5 times during the trip to blow up the raft and use Tupperware containers and water guns to bail water out. We also had to sit on the holes to help slow down the escaping air. It seems the "seaworthy" rafts, along with the guides, were being saved for a trip down the Colorado River though the Grand Canyon!

Tuesday's attempt to retrace our float down Brown's Canyon never materialized. It seems our guides, who weren't out of diapers for that many years, showed a great deal of hesitance and nervousness about going with us. Talk about a real confidence builder! I, for one, got real nervous as their uneasiness about going with us were very apparent. When they finally decided they were not up to the task, I breathed a sigh of relief too! We found out later that a 12-year old boy who was tubing with friends near Buena Vista
drowned that day.

Hummingbird Heaven
Wednesday's adventure for Jack and myself was a bike ride up to St. Elm, a mining town 7 miles up the mountain that must have the largest hummingbird population in the world! While we were enjoying the beautiful scenery on our bikes, Dick and Judy were going to an Arts and Crafts Fair, David and Karen (AKA Kitchen Boss) were enrolling in kayak school, Sharon was rock hunting, Leslie and Jeff were sightseeing in Leadville, and Catherine was driving up and down the roads trying to get guides for us.

Later that evening came one of the true highlights of the trip. We were visited beginning at midnight by a bear and her cub (there was probably a whole gang of them, but only two were spotted!) They rummaged through the ice chests and food containers -- having a definite affinity toward Catherine's cereal and Jack's salsa! It quickly got to be Comedy Central as Jack ran around the camp in his red bikini briefs shining his flashlight everywhere and Catherine could be overhead trying to reason with the furry creatures, explaining to them how much time she spent shopping at Wal Mart for food and telling them SHOO, BEAR! SHOO, BEAR!
( I wanted to go outside and help them, but somebody had to take notes so there would be an accurate account for this article!) Anyway, this continued off and on until around 3:30 a.m. or thereabouts.

Royal Gorge & Splat Rock
We woke up Thursday morning ready to attack the Royal Gorge. This time, we used commercial rafts that didn't have any holes (at least when we started!). It was a great trip, what with all the "experienced paddlers" in our group, we told our 20-year old guide that he had nothing to worry about! We were different from the people he was used to taking down the river. We breezed our way down the river through the Class IV and Class V rapids without a hitch, Then an oar boat attacked us, and while we were defending ourselves and showing them not to mess with the Bayou Chapter and our Stream Machine water guns, a big rock slid right in front of us and before we knew it, we were wrapped around SPLAT ROCK!

So we practiced our River Rescue skills and were able to extend our time on the river about 30 minutes!

Friday was a somber and laid back day. Many of us took a 7-mile round trip hike up to Ptarmigan Lake, a beautiful alpine lake. When it started to sleet and thunder, Jack and I decided to make our way back down while others explored and fished. Later that evening we sat around the campfire and were entertained by Joe McShane's flute playing and an entourage of Ozark singers(?) and dancers (?).

Thanks for the memories!
I would like to express my thanks not only to Catherine Hill for all of her hard work, but to all of the Ozark Society members from all over who made the trip this year. We really do have a fine organization, one in which I am very proud to be a member. May we continue to grow and share experiences that enrich each others lives! Hope to see you in Colorado next year!

BNR Trail Work to resume on Nov. 4

This fall will mark the completion of 15 years of trail construction and maintenance along the upper Buffalo National River under the sponsorship of the Ozark Society. 

Volunteers will work each Saturday, weather allowing, from Nov. 4 through Dec. 16.

Kenneth L. Smith of Fayetteville, project coordinator, reminds us that arrangements are simple: Come any Saturday that you can. Wear work clothes and hiking footwear. Bring a daypack with lunch and drinking water. Be present at the Steel Creek Ranger Station by 9:30 Saturday morning.  The National Park Service will furnish trail tools and safety gear. Each Saturday, volunteers will hike to a new stretch of trail to perform routine cleanup and maintenance including removal of fallen trees and limbs, minor work on washouts, and so on. Tasks vary from easy to strenuous and can be matched to each individual's interests and abilities.

Saturday workers gain the privilege of staying in the Steel Creek "volunteer house" on Saturday night, with Sunday then available for recreational pursuits along the Buffalo River. The house has a functioning kitchen and bath. Overnighters should bring food and bedding.

For further information, phone Ken Smith (501-443-4098) or write him at 459 W. Cleburn St., Fayetteville, AR 72701.

(Editor's note: There is something about Bill Steward's annual Buffalo River Float Trip that seems to activate the "Silly Song Syndrome" that lurks deep within all of us. This particular version, sung to the tune of "Sixteen Tons," was composed by the proud partisans of leader Brenda Crites' Group One and submitted by Kay Richardson of Rogers.)

You load 11 canoes and what do you get?
Another day wetter and deeper in -- stuff.
Bill Steward don't you call us, cuz we won't go;
We only float with BRENDA down the Buffalo!

Some people say a man is made out of mud.
But a river woman's made out of muscle and blood.
With Brenda as your Captain, you can't go wrong.
She'll find you a Ranger -- but the time may be long.

Group Two and Three suffered while group Number One,
Got warm showers worth a million; and hot dryers
on their buns!

With hot coffee in a shelter and our tents on the grass;
Breakfast was served with a touch of class.

Most groups only travel for a very short while;
But not this group, we'll go at least 20 miles.
With Brenda as our leader -- comes a 3 a.m. alarm;
To pack up the kitchen and save it from harm!

Eleven boats saved and what do you get?
A Buffalo float that we'll never forget.
Bill Steward don't you call us cuz we won't go;
We'll only float with BRENDA down the Buffalo!

A Wilderness Tribute To Dale Bumpers
By Kirk Wasson

On Friday, Sept. 8, the U. S. Forest Service organized a well-deserved tribute ceremony to honor former U. S. Senator Dale Bumpers for his years of work to recognize and safeguard wilderness on public lands in Arkansas. An inscribed stone has been placed at each of the eight Arkansas wilderness
areas his legislation created. The stones bear this inscription:

"Special thanks to Senator Dale Bumpers for his outstanding contribution to wilderness in Arkansas."

The formal dedication was held at Flatside Pinnacle, overlooking the Flatside Wilderness, west of Little Rock in the Ouachita National Forest. Ouachita Forest Supervisor Alan Newman and Ozark-St. Francis Forest Supervisor Charles Richmond thanked Sen. Bumpers for his work and they jointly presented him with a beautiful clock made to look like a limestone bluff.

There was not a large crowd there, which is how I believe the senator wanted it. Officials from Arkansas State Parks, Arkansas Wildlife Federation, Ozark Highlands Trail Association, Arkansas Audubon Society, and the Ozark Society were present.

Congressman Vic Snyder flew in from Washington just for the occasion. Tim Ernst presented Sen. Bumpers with the latest copy of his book of wilderness photographs.

The senator said that, next to his work in the Senate to balance the budget,the Wilderness Act was "his proudest accomplishment." We all know that he had many more accomplishments, and is a humble man. To prove that, he said his legacy is only what his children and grandchildren think of him. A lot more generations of his and ours will remember his fine work for conservation in Arkansas.

For newcomers who may not know, Sen. Bumpers was instrumental in the passage of the Arkansas Wilderness Act of 1984. This act, signed by President Ronald Reagan, designated areas on the Ouachita and Ozark national forests for inclusion in the National Wilderness Preservation System.

The areas added in the Ouachita National Forest are Black Fork Mountain, 8,350 acres; Dry Creek, 6,310 acres; Poteau Mountain, 11,299 acres; and Flatside 9,507 acres.

The additions in the Ozark National Forest were Richland Creek, 11,80l acres; East Fork, 10,688 acres; Leatherwood, 16,838 acres; and Hurricane Creek, 15,307 acres.

In addition to these eight new wildernesses, Congress added acreage to the Upper Buffalo Wilderness in the Ozark NF.

Earlier, in 1975, the Upper Buffalo in the Ozark NF and Caney Creek in the Ouachita NF were designated as units of the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Ozark Society was heavily involved in this wilderness preservation effort through the Arkansas Conservation Coalition's "Wilderness Task Force."

We should all drop Sen. Bumpers a note of thanks for his role in establishing Arkansas wilderness, including the land swaps and acquisitions that led to protection of these special places for future generations.

His tribute is well deserved.

Conservation Observations
By Paul Means, Conservation Chairperson

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) and the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 at Dallas have sometimes resembled battered, weary prizefighters cautiously circling each other in the ring. However, on Aug. 29, ADEQ Director Randall Mathis and EPA Region 6  Administrator Gregg Cooke -- along with senior managers at both agencies -- signed a "Statement of Shared Principles" that "pledges to improve communication and cooperatively resolve issues to better protect the environment."

The agencies also have agreed to collaborate on several priority issues in Arkansas.

Heretofore, when conservationists believed that ADEQ was kowtowing too much to scofflaw polluters, they could circle the wagons and appeal to the EPA Region 6 for rescue.

Hopefully, under this agreement, less of that will be necessary.

So you will have it straight from ADEQ and EPA in their own words, here is the text of their news release:
"The ADEQ and the EPA have long shared the goal of environmental protection, but this agreement commits us to a higher level of cooperation on activities to protect Arkansas' natural resources," ADEQ Director Mathis said. "State and federal agencies don't always work in tandem as well as they should. We
are pledging here to work mutually and efficiently, and to cooperatively resolve issues that ordinarily might divide agencies such as ours."
'The document, a memorandum to all staff at both agencies, states the following principles: (1) We will seek solutions based on our shared goals and values; (2) we will enter into conversations presuming agreement rather than disagreement; (3) we will seek cooperative solutions to issues, in lieu of "winning" for our agencies; (4) we will continue developing and strengthening the ADEQ-EPA partnership. "The agreement stems from a July 20 meeting among senior managers from the agencies as part of a comprehensive planning process at ADEQ. The EPA Region 6 Office, headquartered in Dallas, has signed similar agreements with Texas and Louisiana and hopes to reach agreements with the other states in the region, Oklahoma and New Mexico.

"In Arkansas, the closer working relationship will mean immediate progress on timely issues such as the federally mandated Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) program, designed to comprehensively analyze and better protect impaired waterways. The recent settlement of a lawsuit against the EPA by the Sierra Club and other conservation groups over management of the Arkansas TMDL program has cleared the way for settling questions posed by ADEQ.

"Senior managers at ADEQ and the EPA Region 6 have agreed to work together on several TMDL issues. For example, the EPA will help Arkansas and Oklahoma resolve matters concerning the Illinois River in northeastern Oklahoma and northwestern Arkansas."

"They will also work together on air quality monitoring improvements and Superfund site cleanups." The news release also revealed that, "The agreement ... also helps pave the way for a comprehensive Performance Partnership Agreement (PPA), which would establish environmental-outcome goals that are important to both agencies. They would work together toward specific, jointly determined environmental results -- measurable standards for the quality of Arkansas' air, water and land."

The ADEQ and EPA have set a July 1, 2000 goal for developing the PPA. Director Randall Mathis is retiring from ADEQ, and Richard Weiss, a former director of the Dept. of Finance & Administration, has been chosen as interim director.

Only time will tell how all this state-federal togetherness will work out.

Currents
By Stewart Noland

"We need quiet places and we need quiet ways to travel in them. We never quite realize how valuable they are until we've been paddling, camping, and fishing in them for a few days. Once cleansed of the residue of daily living, it's possible to find what my son once called 'a calm spot' in your heart. It's a good thing to find."  -- " Wooden Canoe" by Jerry Dennis

I recently returned from a five day rafting trip on the magnificent Selway River in north central Idaho. The Selway is a gin clear, snow melt river that carves a path through the Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness on its way to joining the Lochsa River to form the Clearwater River. The Selway-Bitterroot Wilderness is abutted by the Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness to the south, forming the largest contiguous wilderness in the lower 48 states.

The Selway River was designated a national Wild and Scenic River in 1968 by Congress. The U. S. Forest Service manages the Selway and allows only one boat trip per day to launch on the Selway, with a maximum group size of 16. The Selway offers challenging whitewater with several rapids rated Class 4. Protected by both wilderness and wild and scenic river designation, the Selway teems with wildlife and fish. Our group saw moose, bear, osprey, rattlesnakes, cutthroat trout, brook trout, and numerous waterfowl and birds. The area is pristine and provides a glimpse of wild America.

The Selway-Bitterroot and Frank Church wilderness areas are measured in square miles -- hundred of them. We are fortunate that these large expanses of wilderness exist today. I am thankful for those persons unknown to me who undoubtedly worked so hard to gain wilderness and wild and scenic river designations for the Selway watershed. These areas are valuable resources today, but just think of their value 100 years from now!

I hope that these areas are maintained in their current status. Large wilderness areas not only provide sanctuaries for wildlife, they also provide opportunities for humans to understand their role in life. In some ways I am envious of the large western wilderness areas and wild and scenic rivers. Western wilderness is measured in square miles and western wild and scenic rivers are measured in tens of miles, while our wilderness is measured in acres and our wild and scenic rivers are measured in miles. However, this comparison does not diminish the value of our home states' wilderness, or our wild and scenic rivers. They are the best we have of what's left, and I am also thankful for them.

Reflecting on my Selway experience has encouraged me to examine the emphasis of the Ozark Society. The Society's emphasis on "wilderness, wild and scenic rivers, and unique natural areas" may be even more appropriate today than when Dr. Neil Compton and his allies initiated the credo. Our collective efforts here to help establish, enjoy, and protect wilderness and wild and scenic rivers is no less important that similar efforts in the west.

I am thankful to be a part of our efforts, and I invite you to continue to support the Ozark Society in our work. See you on the river!

Linahan Retires His "Flat Top" Hat
By John Heuston

Buffalo National River Superintendent John D. "Jack" Linahan will cap an eventful 44-year career with the National Park Service with his retirement, effective Sept. 29, 2000. Jack and his wife, Dee, have been stalwart supporters of the Buffalo National River during his twelve years as superintendent of America's first "national river."

The Buffalo National River is administered by the National Park Service, but, contrary to almost every media article you read, it is not a "national park." The Buffalo is a "national river," one of several unique categories (like national monuments) within the National Park System and Arkansas residents should take pride in the fact that we have the very first "national river" ever designated.

Linahan has focused on ensuring that the Buffalo River and its environs stay as natural as possible; keeping facilities development within park boundaries to an essential minimum. He always understood that the natural, free-flowing river was the main attraction -- not just more tables and cooking grills.

The Linahan's are building a home near Custer, South Dakota, where Jack can walk out the back door and indulge in his favorite pastime -- trout fishing. The Linahan's have two sons, John, an architect in Lafayette, Louisiana, and Michael, a teacher in South Korea.

"We're going to miss the many friends we've made in the area and throughout Arkansas," Linahan told a gathering of Ozark Society friends during an Ozark Society Oral History videotaping session at Boxley Valley in September. "Who knows, if the Dakota winter's prove to be too much, we might be back!"

When asked what he considered to be the major challenges facing the Buffalo National River in the future, Linahan didn't hesitate: "protecting water quality in the watershed, because we are downhill from everybody, and development (of a nature that would threaten the BNR)."

A native of Omaha, Nebraska, Linahan is a graduate of Dana College where he majored in biology and art. On a trip to the Colorado River as a youngster, Linahan saw his first National Park Service ranger wearing a flattop hat.

"That flattop hat did the trick," he said. "From then on, I knew what I wanted to be and who I wanted to work for."

Linahan's career has taken him to eleven assignments in nine parks across the nation. He began his career in l959 at Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado as a seasonal employee, working as a park ranger and a maintenance worker. In l963 he received a permanent appointment as a park guide at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico  -- he would return to Carlsbad in l977 as area manager.

After a training assignment at Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona in l965, Linahan began his ranger career in earnest -- moving four times in twelve years. His assignments included area ranger at Olympic National Park in Washington; sub-district and district ranger positions at Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Arizona-Nevada), district ranger at Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, and finally assistant chief park ranger at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee-North Carolina (you know, the park the black helicopter crowd believes has been "taken over" by the United Nations just because it's a UN Biosphere Reserve!"