Guest column
A factory farm’s effect on tourism
 
By GORDON WATKINS SPECIAL TO THE DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
This article was published March 23, 2014 at 3:35 a.m.

Arkansas is the Natural State, or at least that’s how it’s advertised. Over the years, millions of tax dollars have been spent promoting its pristine image, enticing residents of neighboring states to come and stay a while. The television commercials and print ads paint lush mountains and clear waters where happy people canoe, swim, fish, and hike. But what the commercials don’t show is a recent factory farm of 6,500 pigs that is now operating on a major tributary of the Buffalo National River. Each year at C & H Hog Farms, 2 million gallons of feces and urine from those pigs will be held in leaking lagoons and then spread over porous limestone terrain just a few miles upstream from the Buffalo.

There is a bit of irony in all this. On one hand you have a state agency, the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, luring visitors with the state’s beauty-while on the other hand you have another state agency, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, approving a large hog farm in the watershed of one of the state’s top attractions. How many people will come to our Natural State if our river is fouled with animal waste? Perhaps a better question is how much money does the state stand to lose?

Tourism is a $6-billion industry in Arkansas, creating 60,000 jobs while generating $400 million in tax revenues every year. The Buffalo National River attracts more visitors than Crystal Bridges Museum and the Clinton Presidential Center. Last year, 1.2 million people enjoyed the national park while spending $44 million. Around 610 jobs are directly tied to the Buffalo.

In comparison, let’s talk about the economics of C & H in the Buffalo watershed. The factory farm is funded with a $3-million taxpayer-subsidized loan. In addition, the state of Arkansas is spending $340,000 of taxpayer dollars to monitor pollution runoff from lagoons and spray fields. That price tag is expected to exceed half a million dollars within the next few years. In return for all this federal and state money, the farm operators are creating six low-paying jobs while threatening our environment.

Recently the Governor’s Conference on Tourism was held in Rogers, where Gov. Mike Beebe got an earful. About 150 concerned citizens rallied outside the event in support of the Buffalo National River. At one point, Gov. Beebe addressed the crowd, saying he appreciated their concern, but there was little he could do until laws were changed. Inside, many convention delegates expressed their concern. State Tourism Director Joe David Rice told reporters that if pollution from the factory hog farm reaches the Buffalo it would damage the whole state. “It’s an iconic image of Arkansas,” Rice said. “Folks see the cliffs, the clear water, a lot of folks grew up skipping rocks on the Buffalo. They took their first canoe trip on the Buffalo, so it’s very important emotionally for most Arkansans.”

Arkansas politicians must make some hard choices sooner rather than later. If they want Arkansas to be the Natural State, they can’t allow factory farms to pollute our best rivers. You can’t have it both ways and still expect tourists to flock to the state. The federal Clean Water Act requires states to monitor rivers and list those imperiled by agriculture and other pollution sources. In the Ozarks alone, the Illinois River is impaired. The White River is impaired. The Kings River is impaired. And Crooked Creek is impaired. If the Buffalo National River is the next casualty, then the state may have to come up with another feelgood publicity campaign to replace an imperiled multibillion-dollar industry.

Gordon Watkins is the president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance and owns a farm in Parthenon (Newton County).

Perspective, Pages 83 on 03/23/2014

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