Fall 2026

By Carolyn Shearman Ozark Society Vice President November 13-15th: Fall Meeting at Buffalo Point Campground The Fall meeting at the Buffalo Point Campground will be November 13th-15th and here is the schedule: Friday, November 13th 6:00 PM – Board Meeting, Pavilion 1. Saturday, November 14th Breakfast on your own 9:30am Meet at Pavilion 1 for shuttle to trailhead for Hill-Hamilton Preserve exploration, continuing from there to Indian Rock House.  Consider water shoes for creek crossing.  Lead: Ross Noland Lunch on your own, on trail or back at camp. 1:00pm Angela Boyers, Buffalo National River Superintendent, speaks to membership.  Pavilion 1. 2:30-3:00pm-ish Membership Meet at Pavilion 1 for election of new officers.   Brian updates membership on issues and accomplishments over the past year. Lowell Collins gives an update on Youth Grants. Loring Bullard gives a short talk on low head dams. 5:30pm-ish Pot Luck in Pavilion 1   OS Sugar Creek to provide plates, dinnerware, and serving utensils. 7:00pm-ish Musical entertainment – Dave Smith Sunday, November 15th 11:00am – Hike from BRT Spring Creek Road to Spring Creek, return.  4 miles.  Lead: Luke Parsch

By Don House, OS Highlands and Buffalo River Chapter Member I attended school in the United States, so by definition, I am ignorant of all things geographical. Proof of this hypothesis, is that after my first telephone conversation with Sassafras Hiking Award recipient Kurt Bachmann, I had to resort to maps and atlas to put into perspective what I was hearing. “Last year I hiked the Continental Divide Trail from southern Montana to Mexico, and this year I’m starting in Montana and doing the northern section to the border with Canada.” Those words do not compute in my catalogue of outdoor activities. I consider myself a hiker. I spend considerable time doing just that, but my conversation with Kurt made it clear how circumscribed my range is. And while I measure my distances in single digits, his tend to the hundreds and thousands. He is a hiker of another level, as nonchalant and soft-spoken as he may be about his accomplishments. We spoke from his room in a hostel in East Glacier Park just off the Continental Divide Trail at the southeast corner of Glacier National Park. The connection was iffy, we both expected it to go out at [...]

By Paul Means, Reprinted from Pack and Paddle Summer Edition 1994 On Earth Day 1992, which fell on April 22, President George Bush signed into law the Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act which added 8 streams to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. In all 195 miles of rivers are covered by this designation which protects them from development that would impair their wild or scenic character. Unlike the bitter political battle over the Arkansas Wilderness Bill, the Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was passed without controversy. This achievement can be attributed to the hard work of Senator Dale Bumpers, Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, the U.S. Forest Service, and the Ozark Society. It all began with a bureaucratic process initiated by Congress in 1963. That year Congress authorized a nationwide rivers inventory. Work did not actually begin until the early 1970's and the inventory was not completed until 1982. This inventory listed rivers and streams which were relatively natural or undeveloped. Once the inventory was complete, the U.S. Forest Service declared that the streams in the inventory which were within National Forests were eligible for study for inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers system. [...]

By Michael Reed, BRT Trail Coordinator October 24-30th: The Ozark Society’s Fall ’26 Trail Improvement Campaign for the Buffalo National River Join us October 24-30th for a day, the weekend, or longer.  We'll be based at the Steel Creek ranch house once again, with some tread repairs on the to-do list along with the usual brush removal.  As more people adopt parts of the BRT we'll be able to turn some of our attention toward other trails.  We will begin preparations at the ranch house October 23.  We’ll work in the field Saturday the 24th through Friday the 30th, and clean and pack the morning of the 31st. You can get general information at: BRT Maintenance Camp Information – Buffalo River Trail Crew Contact me, Michael Reed with any questions. Ultimately, if you want to participate you'll need to RSVP with me to get final details.  My contact information is: Michael Reed mereed@runbox.com

By Fred Paillet, Ozark Society Education Chair This one new reference arrived with no warning to address my concern about global warming, conflated with both my most treasured outdoor experiences and my most intense ongoing professional interests.   That’s quite a bit to ask from a young author’s first major publication.  The book is North to the Future – an Offline Adventure Through the Changing Wilds of Alaska by Ben Weissenbach.  The introduction got my immediate attention since it squarely addressed the topic of Polar Amplification.  As readers must know from my previous work, I anticipate disproportionate distribution of global warming (temperature change amplification at the poles) to have a major effect on weather patterns from the way it decreases the latitudinal thermal gradient.  This is going to affect (or perhaps is already affecting) the fundamental nature of the storms and droughts we experience.   In this book, a young Princeton graduate decides to travel north to experience the changing climate there while consulting three notable experts investigating three important aspects of climate model verification.  These are: permafrost degradation, high latitude glacier dynamics, and northern tree-line expansion.  That alone would be of real interest.  But the author’s experience includes strenuous backpacking and [...]

By Carolyn Shearman, OS Vice President Marcelle Castleberry was a longtime member of the Ozark Society, Pulaski Chapter, along with her husband Don Castleberry.      She will be greatly missed and remembered for attending all our special events and especially for the amazing food she always shared with us at parties and potlucks.  Don said “she believed in making good food and lots of it!” Wherever life took her, Marcelle found a way to share her talents. She had a gift for making beautiful things with her hands. In Utah, she designed and handcrafted bridal jewelry. She became an accomplished potter whose unique creations found homes in collections across several states. She later worked as a bank manager in both New Jersey and Virginia before discovering the calling that would become her life’s passion. After settling in Little Rock, Marcelle combined her gifts for hospitality, baking, and cooking by opening Marcelle’s Tea Room on Cantrell Road. For ten years, she welcomed guests with delicious meals, beautiful custom cakes, and warm conversation. Her restaurant became a beloved gathering place, earning a devoted following of loyal customers who continued to ask her to reopen long after its doors had closed. All of [...]

By Stewart Noland, Ozark Society Archive Chair Longtime Ozark Society member Paul Means recently passed away. I met Paul in 1976 soon after I moved to Little Rock. We paddled, hiked, and camped together on numerous occasions. We were also both members of the Ozark Society. Paul served on the Ozark Society Board for many years in the capacity of Conservation Chair. Although other issues were pressing at the time (Lee Creek Dam, Bear Creek Dam, Pindall Landfill), Paul’s most lasting impact was likely helping with the Congressional passage of the Arkansas Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 1992. Paul’s work took him to Washington, DC on occasion, which gave him an opportunity to visit face to face with Arkansas’ Congressional delegation and their staffs concerning the proposed legislation to designate the Cossatot, Little Missouri, Upper Buffalo, Richland Creek, Hurricane Creek, Big Piney, Mulberry, and North Sylamore Creek as Wild and Scenic Rivers under the federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. For several years Paul spearheaded the Ozark Society efforts in this regard. Anticipating a need to send Ozark Society members to Washington to testify at Congressional hearings on the subject, the Board had saved a significant amount of money [...]

By Brian Thompson, Ozark Society President Ozark Society lost a giant this past month with the passing of Dr. Joe Nix.  In the 1960s and early 1970s, Joe joined Dr. Neil Compton and others in the newly formed Ozark Society to stop a proposed dam from being built on the Buffalo River. Their combined efforts to secure congressional support led to the Buffalo River becoming the nation’s first National River. Joe succeeded Dr. Compton as the second president of the Ozark Society.   And of course, Joe led a distinguished academic career and did vital research in water quality throughout the state.  I hope you can join us at the Fall Meeting at Buffalo Point on November 13-15th during our Saturday membership meeting where I will lead a special tribute to Joe and read a nice note from Laura Nix addressed to everyone.

By Lowell Collins, Ozark Society Youth Grants Chair Ozark Society (OS) is launching the 2027 cycle of Youth Grants to support environmental projects. Grant proposals will be accepted from nonprofit organizations and schools with projects that take place in the region where the Ozark Society is active.  Projects must involve elementary or secondary school-aged youth in hands-on conservation activities or environmental engagement. Project funding between $500 and $2500 will be awarded based on the scope and needs of the youth activity. Applications will be accepted from October 1st to November 30th. Award notification and funds distribution will be in February 2027. Projects will have one year to complete their objectives.  Final grant reports will be due by March 31st 2028. Since 2020, the OS Youth Grants Program has awarded $73,700 to fifty-one different grant projects. Funded projects include gardens and greenhouses, interactive environmental education, community clean-up and restoration projects, watershed conservation, trail building, and more. Please share this announcement with schools and environmental educators in your area. For the application form and additional information about the Youth Grant, visit:   www.ozarksociety.net