Water Quality in the Buffalo River Watershed Program

Water Quality in the Buffalo River Watershed Program

Aquatic Ecologist, Faron Usery, with the National Park Service will present current findings concerning habitat and water quality of the Buffalo River watershed on Thursday, March 12 in Dryer Hall on the campus of Arkansas State University-Mountain Home (ASUMH).

Light refreshments will be served at 4:00 p.m. and the presentation will begin at 5:00 p.m. in McMullin Lecture Hall. The general public is invited to attend.

Co-hosted by ASUMH Stream Team and Friends of the North Fork and White Rivers, the program is aimed at citizens who want to know the science at work in protecting the Buffalo River, a national treasure and tributary to the middle section of the White River.

Usery holds a B.S. in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology and an M.S. in Biology from the University of Central Arkansas in 2001. He has been with the Park Service for 15 years focusing on hydraulic and aquatic ecology. Specializing in the area of water quality and effects on aquatic biota, Usery has worked extensively with native mussels on the Buffalo River and in surrounding river systems, and in 2004-2006 organized an intensive search that has led to many new discoveries and condition assessments.

In 2013, Arkansas’ largest swine CAFO was permitted on Big Creek, a tributary to the Buffalo River. According to Jane Darr, president of Friends of the Rivers, “Usery will report on monitoring that began in early 2013 to characterize Escherichia coli concentrations in 3 sites; Big Creek and the Buffalo River above and below the confluence. In October 2014, 2 other sites were added to address regional effects; the Little Buffalo and the Upper Buffalo Wilderness. In the spring of 2014, Big Creek and the Buffalo River (below the confluence) exceeded recreation contact limits for 2 months.”

For more information call Jane Darr with Friends of the Rivers at 870-430-5777 or Dr. Eddie Dry at 870-508-6146.