carolyn

PLEASE NOTE THIS TRIP IS FULL.  IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO BE ADDED TO THE WAITING LIST, CONTACT  BOB CROSS, racross@uark.edu or 479-466-3077. You may have seen the previous Pack & Paddle announcement that because of the success of the Colorado trip, the Ozark Society will add additional major adventures to our activity list.  I now have further details of the proposed hiking trip to the Southwest Canyon Country in the fall.  The Needles District of Canyonlands National Park was mentioned as the probable destination but because of logistical problems with Canyonlands the trip will go to Zion National Park.  The dates are from September 21st to the 28th. We will stay in Group Site #1 in Watchman Campground that is next to the Visitor Center. There will be flush toilets and running water available but no showers. Only tents are allowed in the group sites, i.e., no RV nor pop-up camp trailers. The cost will be $4 per night per person plus park admission fees if there are 15 of us camping.  It will drop to $3 per night per person if there are 20 people. You will need to furnish all of your camping gear and food. Adjacent to [...]

Mary Virginia Ferguson passed away in Conway on May 8.  She will be greatly missed. Mary Virginia and Hubert Ferguson were founding members of the Ozark Society.  Most members will remember that they and their family played a key role in saving the Buffalo River from planned dams on the Buffalo.  They were active leaders, canoeists, hikers and devoted "birders", gardeners and ranchers for many years.  Their home is in Ponca, near Boxley. Cards may be sent to Hubert and Family c/o Hubert Ferguson, 1447 AR 43 Hwy, Ponca, AR 72670 (please note this is an updated address) or c/o John Ferguson, 3285 Chrysler Cove, Conway, AR 72034-7289. Follow the link below to Mary Virginia's obituary: https://www.rollerfuneralhomes.com/services.asp?page=odetail&id=34529&locid=14  

Dear Ozark Society Members and Friends, I hope you will read the linked information below and consider submitting personal comments.  Banning new medium and large confined swine operations in the Buffalo River Watershed will give the Buffalo a level of protection that is sorely needed at this point.  The number of comments as well as their content will be important in the approval process.  I hope that hundreds of you will respond. Thanks for your help. Bob Cross, President 3rd Party Rulemaking - Public Comment Information

Ozark Society - Highlands Chapter Member Teresa Turk has revised her  documentary film.  To view the updated version of this comprehensive documentary,  click "continue reading" and then the link:   Revised - A Mighty Struggle      

Conservation Chair Alice Andrews submitted the following report on the March 28 PC&E meeting: PC&E had directed ADEQ to come up with a plan for a "Task Force to study the possibility of banning large CAFOS in the Buffalo River Watershed".  They were to propose a member list of Task Force Stakeholders from organizations and state agencies and to report their conclusions in January 2015. In the meantime, the Ozark Society and the Arkansas Public Policy Panel decided to join forces to notify PC&E that we are filing a petition for 3rd Party Rulemaking to ban any future medium and large CAFOs from the Buffalo River Watershed.  This would require a modification of Regulations 5 and 6 related to Individual and General Permits for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.  We believe that this process would be faster than waiting for the Task Force recommendations. After extensive discussion on the Task Force proposal, the Commission voted unanimously to proceed with 3rd Party Rulemaking, and to place the Task Force on hold for the time being.  One Commissioner tried to also request a moratorium on any more hog farms for six months while the 3rd Party Rulemaking moves forward.  That motion was tabled until [...]

It has become apparent that C&H Hog Farm misrepresented its authority to use several fields as sprayfields in its Nutrient Management Plan (NMP)  for its hog operation.  Property owners of land in three of these fields had denied permission to include their land in the sprayfield area. Both ADEQ and C&H were aware that there were issues with the owners of these fields.  Now a portion of the land has been used in the state-funded U of A water monitoring project. This means over a half million dollars in taxpayer money was used for water monitoring on fields which should not have been included in the NMP to begin with, and should not have been used in  testing by the University. See Links below for today's Press Release regarding this new development as well as a letter addressed to ADEQ requesting that the C&H permit be re-opened.  The ADEQ letter includes backup documentation from the landowners.   Landowner Press Release_FINAL ADEQ Letter 2-12-2014 with Attachments    

Recently the New York Times covered the debate about the C&H Hog Farm in Mt. Judea. To read that article as well as Mike Masterson's response to it, click on the links below:   New York Times: 2,500 Pigs Join Debate Over Farms vs. Scenery; Mike Masterson: Swine vs. Scenery?      

The 2014 Colorado high adventure trip this year will be Sunday July 13 thru Saturday July 19. The campground reservations have been made at the Cascade Campground in the Collegiate Peaks area of the San Isabel National Forest. The campground is located on County Road 162 west of Nathrop, Colorado. The trip is limited to 60 people so if you want to go you need to send in your reservation in by June 1, 2014 You should plan to arrive at the campground by mid-afternoon Sunday July 13. The first meal will be that evening. All meals will be provided through dinner on Friday July 18 as part of the trip. If you prefer motel accommodations to camping, you can make reservations at nearby Mount Princeton Hot Springs Lodge, 15870 County Road 162, Nathrop, Colorado, 719-395­-2361. Meals at the campground will be provided for all trip participants, regardless of whether you are camping or staying at the lodge. There will be a variety of outings to choose from: rafting or boating on the Arkansas River, hiking, fishing, mountain biking, horseback riding, or sightseeing. You must be an Ozark Society member to participate in this trip. You can join by sending $15 [...]

In a recent tour of cities in Arkansas,  Waterkeepers from North Carolina described how the CAFO’s (confined animal feeding operations) have caused havoc in their state.  If you were unable to attend, or haven't seen the attached video, please take some time to click on this link and view the video. In a few minutes the whole picture is clearly presented aided by vignettes by Jewell Fowler, a long-time resident of Mt. Judea, and Ed Bethune, who has helped us on so many previous occasions. https://vimeo.com/81037170      

Many of our members know John Heuston, the much-admired former Communications Chair of the Ozark Society.  His wife Margaret has let us know that John has been moved to the Parkway Village on Chenal Parkway, and is in the Shell Center for Alzheimer's disease.  He is in Unit #9.  Visitors are welcome at the Alzheimer Center, though Margaret says John probably won't know you.  When you drive in the main gate, the guard will call the Alzheimer Unit to ask if John may have a visitor.  There is a protocol followed for entering and leaving the building. As most of you know, John's dedication to the Ozark Society's newsletters, "Pack & Paddle" and "Paddle Trails" was a 25 year well-done effort.  His unfailing determination to move conservation and preservation issues forward went back to the early days of founding the Ozark Society.  He wrote articles for numerous organizations, newspapers across the state, Game and Fish Commission, the Wildlife Federation, the Wilderness Society and more - tirelessly promoting wildlife preservation, protection of streams, wetlands and forests (early speaker against clear cutting), use of prescribed fire in federally designated wilderness and clean air. The very large body of his work, his writings, letters and photos, were [...]