By all our wonderful photographers! Thank you to the Springfield Schoolcraft Chapter for hosting a great get-together May 18-19th. We have a symposium on Climate Change actions with Doug Tallamy, a board meeting, native plant sale, a potluck, music and dancing, a historical reenactment of Henry Schoolcraft, and a cave tour! The Rockspan Barn Dance The Tumbling Creek Cave Tour Bob Kipfer as Henry Schoolcraft The Rockspan Potluck
By Roslyn Imrie and Lowell Collins The Ozark Society Youth Grant program has been empowering young people to take environmental action into their own hands for four years. The committee recently approved eight projects with 459 participants for a total of $8,409 ranging from $430 - $1,750. Approved projects include four related to native gardens, butterfly habitat, and riparian restoration from Ft Smith Southside High School, Ozark Riverways Foundation, West Fork Public Library, and James River Basin Partnership. Springdale Tyson Middle School was awarded funds to produce environmental films to share with their peers. The Heritage High School project focused on composting the schools’ food waste while the Eco-Fashion Club at Fayetteville High School was awarded funds for their textile recycling project. Learning more about bats and creating bat houses is the goal for Malvern Schools. The Youth Grants program was created to inspire the next generation to take part in protecting the Ozarks and nearby natural areas. Since its inception in 2020, thirty-three proposals totaling $50,782 have created opportunities for 7,500 children from kindergarten to 12th grade. Engaging youth in hands-on conservation and environmental stewardship is a key component of the Ozark Society’s mission. The [...]
By Perry Hill, Bayou Chapter Ozark Society CORRECTION REGARDING ORIGINS OF THE ABF TRAIL In the first installment of this article last month, I stated my opinion that at least parts of the ABF are 400-600 years old, based on presence of Caddo Indian quarries on the Trail. Since that time, I have corresponded with Dr. Laura Donaldson (Archeologist for the U.S. Forest Service), and it seems my estimate was a bit off. According to Dr. Donaldson, results of comparative studies and carbon dating show early Native Americans were using the south end of the Trail to hunt and gather by at least 6,000 BC. That means at least that part of the ABF is 8,000 years old or more! Dr. Donaldson also reported there is evidence of short-term camps and longer-term settlements for centuries, all along and near the Trail. Furthermore, she believes the general route of the Trail has changed very little over time, and that some sections follow the ancient trail bed exactly. So when one is on the ABF, there are places where you are literally following in the footsteps of the Ancients. Outlaws and Local Folklore Many have probably heard the [...]
By Tim Mason, OS Vice President Jason Brocar resides in South Dakota, so completing all four trails in less than twelve months required a great deal of logistical planning on his part. Prior to settling in South Dakota, Jason served our country in the Marine Corp and later in the Army. Hence, Jason was dubbed with the trail name MAV, short for Marine Army Veteran. Jason found backpacking by coincidence while looking for outdoor jobs after retiring from the military. This led to his successful pursuit of thru hiking the Appalachian Trail, but he did not stop there. His impressive hiking resume is closing in on 10,000 miles, as he has conquered the Continental Divide Trail, the Pyrenees and GR11 in France and Spain, the Scottish National Trail, the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim, the South Dakota Centennial Trail, the Palmetto Trail, half of the Arizona Trail and half of the Pacific Crest Trail. He plans to complete the remaining 1,300 plus miles of the Pacific Crest Trail starting in July this summer. I asked Jason about his equipment, as today’s long-distance hikers have a plethora of quality items to choose from. He said he [...]
By Brian Thompson, OS President When she’s not hiking, Amy Nicholson is a mechanical engineer in Olathe, Kansas. She has enjoyed hiking ever since she was a teenager but she had never done any serious distance hiking up until she paired up with a friend who had completed the Appalachian Trail. She and her friend decided to hike the Ouachita trail, west to east. Her friend dropped out mid-way, but Amy kept going. “I was hooked.” She finished the Ouachita as a “thru hike," but not before encountering some pretty serious storms when she was thirty miles out from Little Rock. These days she uses the Far Out app for logistics as well as an InReach for checking weather. When shelters are not handy, Amy is a confirmed hammock camper. Amy did the Ozark Highlands Trail in sections, some of which was during a very wet May. She completed it to the east, but due to a very rainy week, she had to return west to complete the portion from the Lake Fort Smith trailhead to Dockery’s gap after Frog Bayou’s flow had lowered enough to allow for a safe crossing. When I [...]
By Brian Thompson, OS President Proposed Rule 37 - Nutrient Trading The municipalities of NW Arkansas are under a lot of pressure to reduce nutrient output due to the longstanding controversy with Oklahoma over the effects of excessive nutrients on the Illinois River. Every successive upgrade to sewer processing results in expenses that are orders of magnitude greater than previous nutrient reduction upgrades. This is one reason why we’ve challenged the land application of industrial waste, as allowing those applications in the same watershed is only adding to the problem. To ADEQ’s credit, they have halted granting those permits for the moment. Searching for other solutions, ADEQ has proposed a new “rule” to allow something called Nutrient Trading. In short, this would allow municipalities to increase nutrients in their effluent output provided they secure a “credit" from landowners to reduce non-point source nutrient run-off. We think this is an idea worth exploring as bringing more focus to non-point sources of nutrients is long overdue. Long standing practices of land applying poultry litter and industrial waste has resulted in high concentrations of phosphorus in pastures across Arkansas. As always, the difficulty is in the details. [...]