Why Do We Need to Save the Buffalo River, Again?

When the Buffalo National River was established in 1972 after a 10-year campaign to "Save The Buffalo", most assumed the river was permanently protected. In 2013 the "Save the Buffalo - Again" campaign became necessary when an industrial scale hog facility was built on the banks of Big Creek, just 5 miles upstream from the Buffalo National River. Government oversight of this large CAFO was deeply flawed and threatened to destroy the fragile ecosystem of our nation's first National River. However, in June 2019, after six years of strong public opposition Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced a $6.2 million buyout and closure of the facility and requested a permanent ban on any future swine permits in the watershed. Explore our web pages to see how this second battle for the Buffalo unfolded.

Big News! 

After over six years of efforts by BRWA and others, we are excited to share that on June 13, 2019 Governor Asa Hutchinson Announced Closure of C&H and support for a Permanent Moratorium! Read the news here. Read the Settlement Agreement here.

On January 6, 2020 the Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism announced that C&H had completed their closure requirements and operations had officially ended 

Now we need to "Save The Buffalo River...Forever!

A permanent moratorium prohibiting any future swine CAFOs in the Buffalo River watershed is needed to provide permanent protection  and insure that the C&H debacle is not repeated.  In spite of the Governor's support for a moratorium in 2020, the Arkansas legislature refused to approve it. BRWA's current work is focused on securing this protection to "Save The Buffalo...Forever!" Read on to see how you can help.

OTHER THREATS

With the hog CAFO finally closed, BRWA is focusing its attention on other threats to the Buffalo. One of the most concerning is a wide ranging plan by the US Forest Service for a 40,000 acre tract in the headwaters. Read about the Robert's Gap Project.