Madison County Record
Buffalo River land tangled in crosscurrents
Preserve designation surfaced in July 2022
Posted Wednesday, October 25, 2023 9:45 am
By Ellen Kreth, For the Record
Part 1
The Runway Group of Bentonville is “retracting” the idea of turning federal land
around the Buffalo National River into a national park preserve, according to
State Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, who represents District 28, which includes
Madison County.
After meeting last Friday with Runway Group’s Director of State and Federal
Affairs Mary Robin Casteel and lobbyist John Burris, King said the Runway Group
“seemed to be open to more dialogue.”
“There’s nothing to pause because we’ve kind of done what we set out to do,
which was to present an idea. We definitely think the idea is worth exploring,”
Runway Group’s Vice President of Corporate and Community A!airs Krista Cupp
said.
“There’s no next steps right now because it’s not our decision to make,” Cupp
said.
Designating public lands around the Buffalo National River as a national park
preserve requires federal legislation.
Legislation has not been drafted and there’s been no attempt to do so, according
to U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., who represents Arkansas’ 4th
Congressional District and chairs the Natural Resources Committee.
“I would say we’re in listening mode. People have ideas and I know there’s folks
debating the pros and cons of it,” Westerman said on Monday.
Steuart and Tom Walton own the Runway Group, a holding company investing in
real estate, outdoor initiatives, conservation and recreation as well as hospitality
and businesses in Northwest Arkansas.
They are grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton and sons of Jim Walton, who
owns thousands of acres of land in Kington in Madison County.
In addition to the land, a spokesperson for Runway Group told The Record, “As
part of a restoration effort, members of the Walton family acquired three historic
buildings on the square in downtown Kingston, intending to update them and
open their doors to the community. While we don’t yet have a timeline for the
opening, we will share more when we do.”
The Walton family purchased the buildings a couple of years ago. A spokesperson
for the family said they have no other plans to develop the Kingston property.
Burris invited legislators representing counties in close proximity to the Buffalo
National River to breakfast at the state Capitol to explain recent poll results
conducted by Runway about the possible change in land designation and to “get
your feedback moving forward. There isn’t a plan yet of any kind. We just want to
start the dialogue with y’all.”
A group calling itself a Coalition for Buffalo River National Park Preserve began
exploring the idea of making public land near the Bu!alo National River a
national park preserve touting the designation as a way to make the area the
“most active-use National Park in the country for outdoor recreation.”
The coalition states its’ purpose “is exploring new ideas to preserve, enhance, and
drive economic benefit for the Buffalo National River.” Officials have neither
divulged members of the coalition nor established a meeting date.
Increased infrastructure
Designating public lands around the river as a national park preserve “would
provide needed infrastructure support to a growing number of tourists; would
support the preservation of the river and its current boundaries; and would
create new ways to benefit the surrounding communities,” a statement from the
Runway Group said.
The coalition is using the New River Gorge Park and Preserve in West Virginia as a
model, which does not require fees or permits, allows fishing and hunting and
access to the river at multiple public access points.
Westerman said infrastructure around the Bu!alo National River gets stressed
with more traffic.
“Even if it just remains a national river and doesn’t get a park designation, there
needs to be some investment in the infrastructure and restrooms is one of those
things and the roads leading to the river. A lot of those places are not in the best
of shape.
“So there’s many things that could be improved to enhance the experience on the
river and also to, you know, harden the infrastructure so that you’re not doing
damage on the river with all the visitors.”
Timeline
In July 2022, the Runway Group approached Westerman about designating the
river’s public lands as a national park preserve.
In January 2023, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed an executive order
establishing the Natural State Advisory Group and appointed Bryan Sanders, her
husband, as chairman. The council is tasked with growing tourism in Arkansas
and the “outdoor economy,” according to a news release.
Gov. Sanders also appointed Tom Walton as one of the 18 members of the
advisory group. So far no meetings have been announced or open to the public,
but the group has been active in exchanging emails regarding tourism and parks
plans.
The Record requested minutes from any meetings but has not received a
response.
King said he is “gravely disappointed and concerned about the natural state
working group,” and its’ lack of transparency, which he said is contributing to
“mistrust.”
In April, according to King, conversations about changing the land to a national
park preserve began “with state officials. My understanding these conversations
started with the governor, governor’s husband and Sen. (Missy Thomas) Irvin,” R Mountain View.
King said he was disappointed local officials in his district were not notified.
“If I had been informed about conversations about the Buffalo, the first phone call I would of made would have been to my local folks,” King said.
In May, Bryan Sanders contacted Irvin “to discuss the Buffalo River,” Irvin wrote
on social media.
She reached out to the Searcy County Chamber of Commerce director, “who was
ready to meet. Then we never heard back from the First Gentleman’s office and
no meeting ever occurred,” Irvin wrote.
Irvin stated she did not discuss the change with Gov. Sanders or Runway Group
officials.
“Mr. Sanders needed to hear directly from my constituents,” Irvin wrote about
issues concerning the river.
Also in May, when Bryan Sanders spoke to the Rotary Club of Little Rock, he told
the crowd that he wanted to double the state’s outdoor recreation economy from
its current $3.5 billion to $7 billion in the next 10 years.
The Runway Group emphasized making the federal lands abutting the river into a
national preserve would spark more tourism, increasing money for
infrastructure.
On Monday, Gov. Sanders appointed Dalaney Thomas director of tourism.
Thomas worked at an advertising agency handling the state’s parks and tourism
account. On the advertising agency’s website, Thomas said her favorite place to
visit is the Buffalo National River area.
About six months ago, a former representative reached out to Dustin Cowell, a
Real Estate appraiser in Mt. Judea, about serving on a committee to explore
turning the land around the river into a national park.
Even though Cowell opposes making any changes, he said he would be willing to
serve on the committee, but he “never heard anything else about it.”
Cowell said, “They even mentioned that it was kind of from the governor’s office.”
End of Part 1. See Part 2