Democrat Gazette
National park status considered for Buffalo
by Bill Bowden | Oct 7, 2023
For months, there's been talk of changing the Buffalo National River to the Buffalo National Park Preserve.
Supporters say the designation change would result in more visitors and more federal funding. And the "preserve" part would preserve hunting and fishing access in the park.
Opponents say the Buffalo National River already gets 1.3 million visitors a year. How many more does it need?
But for now, it's all just talk, said U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark.
He's chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources, and he represents Arkansas' 4th Congressional District, which includes Newton County and part of the Buffalo National River.
A bill to make the designation change would have to go through Westerman's committee before going to the full House for a vote, then to the Senate, then to the president.
"There's kind of a lot of buzz about it," said Westerman. "But there's not any process taking place in Congress to draft legislation or move a bill about it because I realize it's something that needs to be handled carefully and get people's input so that if anything's done, it's done the right way."
If there's a bill to be written, Westerman would likely have a lot of input, based on his committee position and part of the park being in his congressional district.
"But I'm not aggressively pushing to make the Buffalo National River a national park," he said. "If that's the will of the people and it makes sense to do that, I'm certainly in a good position to make that happen."
Westerman said he's thinking about having a town hall meeting in the area to get input from residents.
"People have already been contacting my office about it," he said.
The Buffalo National River -- which runs through Newton, Searcy, Marion and Baxter counties -- became the first national river in the United States on March 1, 1972, according to the Encyclopedia of Arkansas. It is one of the few remaining free-flowing rivers in the lower 48 states. Administered by the National Park Service, the Buffalo National River encompasses 135 miles of the 150-mile long river.
The designation change would likely bring in more visitors, said Westerman. People travel the country visiting national parks, but a national river may be off their radar, even if it is also run by the National Park Service.
Austin Albers, president/owner of the Buffalo Outdoor Center in Ponca, said the Buffalo National River moniker probably attracts canoeists, but others may not know the park also has great hiking, camping and bird watching.
And the additional funding would help with infrastructure in the park, he said.
Westerman said he doesn't know yet if people who live in the area want more visitors. The Buffalo National River attracted 1.3 million visitors last year and contributed over $64.9 million in spending to "local gateway regions."
"Mainly what I've been doing is taking input from people and hearing ideas that folks have," he said.
Westerman said some of the folks he's been taking input from include Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and the Walton brothers Steuart and Tom of Bentonville.
When asked if Sanders had an opinion on the matter, Alexa Henning, a spokesperson in the governor's office, replied via email: "Gov. Sanders and Congressman Westerman have had informal conversations about the Buffalo National River."
A request for comment from the Walton brothers resulted in a comment from a spokesperson for Runway Group, a holding company founded by Steuart and Tom Walton that makes investments in real estate, outdoor initiatives and hospitality: "We are participating in early stage conversations around the Buffalo River designation. We are eager to listen and collaborate with the community to support the best path forward to conserve our national treasure here in Arkansas."
Westerman said he's against expanding the national park boundaries, not just at the Buffalo River, but across the country.
"Especially I don't like the federal government taking in any kind of private lands," he said. "We've got a huge federal estate already."
He noted that hunting is still allowed within the boundaries of the Buffalo National River, and there are private landholdings in the park that date back to when it was established in 1972.
"I wouldn't be in favor of doing anything that restricted people's rights to use of the land or to change use of the land," said Westerman. "Sometimes when you change land-use designations, that changes the type of activities that can take place in there. So, there's a lot of stuff that has to be considered and the last thing I want to do is push any kind of legislation that is going to negatively affect people that live in the area."
State Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, said her constituents "are very opposed" to the idea. She's heard from about 20 of them. She said many remember when the federal government forced people off their land to establish the Buffalo National River.
"I can tell you there are still very raw feelings and hurt feelings from back when the Buffalo River was declared a national river," said Irvin. "There is generational pain that exists for many families. That is very real and very raw. Because of the way that was handled, I would say there is a lot of federal government resentment."
Promises in the 1970s that Searcy and Newton counties would benefit economically from the national river designation don't seem to have panned out, said Irvin.
Kevin Elliott, the mayor of Marshall, said there was some talk about the designation change four or five months ago. Then everything died down until September, when Selzer & Co. of Iowa began polling people in the area by telephone.
"In the last month or so, it just went like wildfire," said Elliott. "My phone has not stopped ringing in a while now. Everybody that has contacted me is strictly against it -- 'We don't want this; you do whatever you can to keep it from coming.'"
Elliott said it's the secrecy that riles him.
"When they try to keep something quiet, that's usually not good for the community," he said.
The poll conducted by Selzer & Co. on Sept. 11-13 found that 64% of respondents were in favor of the new designation as a national park.
J. Ann Selzer, president of the polling company, didn't return a telephone call seeking comment, but two flyers from the company have been circulating via email and text through the Arkansas Ozarks. According to the flyers, the poll was conducted for the Coalition for Buffalo River National Park Preserve. The poll surveyed 412 voters from Baxter, Madison, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties.
"A National Park would preserve the Buffalo River way of life," according to one flyer. "Change the status from National River to National Park Preserve and become the most active-use National Park in the country for outdoor recreation."
That's because there aren't many national parks that focus on outdoor recreation within a 500-mile radius, according to the flyer.
The designation as a national park preserve would preserve hunting and fishing access, according to the flyer. A preserve designation also allows for oil/gas exploration and extraction.
"In this rural part of the country, nature is treasured and many make their living from an economy that depends on tourism," according to the flyer. "Requiring only a change in the land's designation, more visitors will bring more jobs and more economic benefits."
A second flyer contained information about the New River Gorge in West Virginia. It became a national river in 1978 and switched to a national park and preserve in 2020.
From 2020 to 2021, the number of visitors at New River Gorge increased from 1,054,374 to 1,682,720, according to the flyer. During that same time, annual economic impact increased from $152 million to $269 million