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Special notice should be given to Bayou Chapter members Adam and Lisa Willard. On March 28th the Louisiana Wildlife Federation will honor them with the Annual Governors Achievement  Award for Volunteer work.  An excerpt from the notice follows. Dear Mr. & Mrs. Willard,  I am pleased to inform you that you have been named Volunteer Conservationists of the Year for 2014 in the Annual Governor's Conservation Achievement Recognition Program conducted by the Louisiana Wildlife Federation.  Celebrating its 51st year, this awards program seeks to recognize those individuals, organizations and businesses that have made significant contributions to the cause of conservation and wise use of Louisiana's natural resources in 2014. The award will be presented at a banquet to be held in your honor the evening of Saturday, March 28, from 6pm to 9pm at Juban’s Restaurant in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Details of the event will soon be posted on our website at www.lawildlifefed.org, and a press release will be sent out later this week.” Congratulations to Adam and Lisa!

A message from Ken Smith: In spite of uncertainties as this is written in early January, volunteers are to resume work on the Buffalo River Hiking Trail the middle of March. Presently volunteers cannot work within the 5.5-mile middle section of the trail. In that section a tract of private land sits astride the trail route. Efforts are underway to acquire the tract for the National Park Service. If the tract is not acquired by mid-March (and that's a very tight deadline), volunteers this Spring can work elsewhere "Elsewhere" means completing short stretches of unfinished trail along the remainder of the entire 28-mile project. This work also needs to be done, and volunteers would see many interesting parts of the trail. Whatever happens, volunteers have only about 2-1/2 miles left to complete all they can do in building the trail. Beyond that, a Park Service trail crew will need to install flights of rock steps, then develop parking spaces at trailheads, and finally install directional signs. College students from Texas State University are to build trail during the week of March 15 - 21. Students from the University of Illinois will work the week of March 22 - 28, and students [...]

The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) will hold a public hearing at North Little Rock February 2, 2015, to receive comments on the proposed five-year regional haze progress report on a State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision prior to submission of the revised plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The hearing will begin at 2:00 p.m. (Central Time) in the Commission Room at the ADEQ Headquarters Building, 5301 Northshore Drive, North Little Rock. The deadline for submitting comments on the SIP revisions is 4:30 p.m. (Central Time) February 17, 2015.   Click for more information: ADEQ-Public Notice of Hearing 2-2-15  

The  Red River Cleanup, supported by the Bayou Chapter of the Ozark Society, has been covered in the Shreveport Times. Click to see article: A doghouse-corset-toilet-freezer-meth-lab    

A U.S District Court Judge in Arkansas found today that in the case of a 6500-hog industrial facility located in the Buffalo River Watershed just 6 miles from the Buffalo National River, “the public interest is best-served by ensuring that federal tax dollars aren’t backing a farm that could be harming natural resources and an endangered species.” Today, U.S. District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas D. Price Marshall issued a decision in an action brought by local, state, and national conservation groups against two federal agencies. The Court found that the federal agencies arbitrarily and capriciously guaranteed loans to the C&H factory farm near the Buffalo National River by failing to take a hard look at environmental impacts and failing to follow proper procedures to protect threatened and endangered species potentially affected by the facility. The following are statements regarding the decision issued today: “The Court saw the federal government agencies’ actions for what they were—a disdain and complete disregard for the laws that protect our environment,” said Earthjustice attorney Hannah Chang. “We believe the Court’s decision will help to set things straight in this debacle that has put more than $3.6 million in federal taxpayer dollars on the [...]

The Ozark Society and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel need your help to ban NEW medium and large confined swine operations in the Buffalo National River Watershed (BNRW). On December 5th, the House and Senate Committees of Public Health, Labor and Welfare and Agriculture, Forestry and Economic Development will meet to review our proposed changes Pollution Control and Ecology Commission Regulations 5 and 6. Contact YOUR representatives that serve on these Committees and ask them to support these changes. Below is a link to PC&E talking points to assist you in calling, writing or emailing Committee Members. Calling is preferred. The hearing on December 5tth is open to the public. While public comments might be accepted, we have lined up individuals to provide testimony, and believe it would be most beneficial to contact Committee Members prior to the hearing.  We are asking you to attend the hearing but not to speak. There is a limited amount of time available and we are concerned about losing a quorum.   PC&E Talking Points  

Dear Friends of the Buffalo River, The Ozark Society and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel have joined forces in support of banning any future medium or large hog concentrated animal feeding operations in the Buffalo River Watershed.  We have many excellent partners in this effort and we need your help!  The invitation is attached to this post. Please join us for this important event.  We'll share dinner, drinks and visiting with old and new friends for a common cause. Bob Cross, President - The Ozark Society Alice Andrews, Conservation Chair - The Ozark Society Buffalo River Fall Fundraiser Invitation     

Brian Thompson of Fayetteville is working on a program that has a strong chance of influencing Cargill regarding the C & H Hog Farm issue.   This is a grass-roots program separate from any of the groups fighting factory hog farms in the Buffalo River watershed.    The Ozark Society approves and encourages you to participate in Brian's letter campaign but it is not an official Ozark Society program.  It is your choice to help in a new way.  So far there are about 60 participants. If you should decide you wish to participate by writing letters to Cargill's customers, send an email to:  thompsonaddc@gmail.com with a message that simply says "opt-in". If you simply want to stay informed by receiving the letters, reply to thompsonaddc@gmail.com with "opt-monitor.” More information about the program is below, or contact Brian Thompson at thompsonaddc@gmail.com. [divider] Program Information: There have been a lot of letters written to Cargill with very little effect.   This is not surprising when you take a closer look.   To understand why, read on: Why Influencing Cargill is Tough Cargill has recently responded to extensive public outcry in opposition to the location of C & H Hog Farm near Arkansas’ Buffalo National River by steadfastly [...]

You are cordially invited to join us on November 24 at 7pm at Second Presbyterian Church, 700 Pleasant Valley Drive, Little Rock, (North Entrance).   Join us as Ed Swaim, Water Resources Division Manager for the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, explains how critical an effective and reliable water plan is for effective management of this essential resource.Following the presentation, there will be time for Q & A and refreshments. Did you know that, statewide, we use more than 11 billion gallons of water daily, and that it is estimated that our needs will increase by 13% by 2050?  Agriculture, thermoelectric power and public supplies use the most water in Arkansas, with the majority of our water needs -- 73% -- being met by groundwater, and 27% by surface water.  The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission last updated the Plan in 1990, and the revised plan will bring “data, science, and public input together to define water demands, water supplies, issues, and potential solutions to meet our needs for the next 40 years.”  To get an eight-page summary of the Arkansas Water Plan and to sign up for regular updates, visit arkansaswaterplan.org. This program is co-sponsored by Second Presbyterian Environmental Stewardship, League of Women Voters Pulaski County, ArkansasInterfaith PowerandLight, [...]

Ouachita Trail Cleanup The fall workday on the Pulaski Chapter's adopted section of the Ouachita Trail was held Sunday afternoon, November 9.  Thank you to our clean up crew of Pete Ireland, Joan and Frank Meeks, and Stewart Noland for their work!