Three grandmas persevere

More than 100 showed up at the Don Nelms fine art gallery in Jasper last week to raise funds in support of our Buffalo National River. Some came from families who've lived five generations in the Buffalo watershed.

Just as significant will be those who care equally for the Buffalo taking time to turn out Wednesday morning at 9:30 at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality (cough) building, 5301 Northshore Drive in North Little Rock.

That's when a representative of the agency will hear an appeal by the "Three Grandmothers" opposing the permit that allows C&H Hog Farms of Mount Judea to spray waste generated by their operation across even more acres of karst terrain on the long-dormant C&C Hog Barn farm owned by one of the same families within the Little Buffalo River and Buffalo National River watershed.

Dr. Nancy Haller, Carol Bitting and Lin Wellford have retained attorney Richard Mays in their valid appeal to stop the state's initial wrongheaded modification to their present wrongheaded permit. They believe the facts were not adequately researched before approving this permit modification, and doing so further threatens the country's first national river.

It's bad enough the Department of Environmental Quality, purported guardians of our environment, so quickly and quietly permitted the hog factory into this sacred region. Now they blindly approve spraying millions of gallons of raw waste onto hundreds of additional acres.

So if you live anywhere near Little Rock and care about the Buffalo, I'm sure these ladies and most of our state's population would surely appreciate seeing your supportive faces.