Democrat Gazette

State proposes Buffalo River area trail study

by Bill Bowden 

The Arkansas Office of Outdoor Recreation proposed on Tuesday that about $70,000 in state grant money go to communities in the vicinity of the Buffalo National River to hire a firm to do a master plan of trail connectivity.

But the Buffalo River Conservation Committee, which is under the state Department of Agriculture, won't be providing a grant to fund the plan -- at least not this year.

Instead, the committee voted Tuesday to give the remaining $70,000 it has available for year-end grants to H2Ozarks of Kimberling City, Mo., to implement conservation practices in the sub-watershed of Mill Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo River.

Katherine Andrews, director of the Office of Outdoor Recreation, pitched the trail plan via Zoom on Tuesday to the committee, which was meeting in Marshall.

"This project proposal that was put forth by our department; we would like to propose that the BRCC grant the remaining funds to communities surrounding the Buffalo National River corridor to be used to hire a third-party firm to conduct a recreation master plan of existing trail connectivity," Andrews said.

The Office of Outdoor Recreation would assist the third-party firm, she said. The study would look at trails surrounding, but not within, the Buffalo National River boundary.

"We hope that this firm could develop an inventory of recreational assets in the area and a review of existing trails and infrastructure for a comprehensive, community-led plan for connectivity," Andrews said.

A woman at the meeting asked if the Natural State Initiative was behind the proposal, and Andrews said it was not.

She said the proposal came from within the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism, of which the Office of Outdoor Recreation is a part.

Gov. Sarah Huckabee formed the Natural State Initiative through an executive order in January and appointed her husband, Bryan Sanders, to serve as chairman of the Natural State Initiative Advisory Council, which provides advice to the governor regarding the promotion of outdoor recreation and the outdoor economy in Arkansas.

Also on the Advisory Council is Tom Walton, a grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton and co-founder of Runway Group of Bentonville, which has floated the idea of having the Buffalo National River re-designated as a national park and preserve.

The re-designation idea, which in theory would bring more visitors to the area, has been opposed by many area residents who say they should have been consulted before Runway Group met with U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., about it over a year ago.

A public townhall-style meeting on the issue drew a crowd of about 1,200 in the Jasper school cafeteria on Thursday, with those who spoke being very much opposed to the national park re-designation. They were concerned about overcrowding, river access, private property rights and a change to "our way of life."

Runway Group didn't send a representative to the meeting in Jasper. Runway promotes trails and has worked to help make Bentonville a destination for mountain bikers.

After Andrews presented her proposal on Tuesday, Andy McCutcheon of St. Joe said that a couple of years ago, it might have been a good idea, but "I'm just going to go ahead and kick the elephant in the room."

"There's a certain other proposal, idea or suggestion that is going on that has a lot of people in this area very hostile right now, very alert, very on edge," he said, referring to the Buffalo National River re-designation idea.

Because of that, McCutcheon said, the proposal Andrews made Tuesday may face stiff opposition.

"I think if you go into these communities right now with the tensions the way they are, this will not be received very well," said McCutcheon. "Anything with 'tourism' attached to it right now is going to be very scrutinized."

McCutcheon said he's been on Buffalo River Conservation Committee subcommittees and he's been a vocal landowner and advocate.

The committee was formed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2019 after the state agreed to pay $6.2 million to buy out C&H Hog Farms, the subject of years-long environmental concerns on Big Creek, about 6.6 miles from where it flows into the Buffalo River.

"I think we've made good inroads," said McCutcheon. "Over the last couple of months, we've got some black eyes over something we've had nothing to do with. And I spoke out. I've tried to mitigate that and say BRCC had nothing to do with it, we didn't even know it was coming. But there's a lot of people who still harbor some feelings that we did."

The committee's water quality studies will still be well received, said McCutcheon.

Darryl Treat, executive director of the Searcy County Chamber of Commerce, said the trail plan sounded like a good idea, but he has concerns.

"We have a fabulous trail that runs from southwestern Searcy County, the Ozark Highlands Trail, all the way to Wollum on the Buffalo River, picks up the Buffalo River Trail, goes all the way down the south side of the river to Dillards Ferry," he said.

"It's all connected. ... And then, apart from that main trail, which is under the umbrella of the Ozark Highlands Trail, the other trails that we have are few and far between."

They'll cut the ribbon on a new trail on Monday, said Treat.

"But these trails, there's really not a lot of opportunity to connect with other trails because they are isolated within a lot of private land," he said. "And so I don't really know how to connect them."

Treat said Searcy County also has horseback riding trails and cycling trails, which are primarily on roads but are basically connected.

"One thing I fear is that if a master plan is developed, then the state will use that master plan against us in the future," he said.

"And that's one thing I'm just a little concerned about. I would hope that the people in each of the individual counties would continue to have the greatest oversight on how they want to see the future of tourism in their county and not be pushed in a certain direction based on a master plan."

A third proposal for the remaining grant funding was from the U.S. Geological Survey to do a "seepage study," looking primarily at the interaction of surface water and groundwater.