Madison County Record
Posted Wednesday, November 8, 2023 9:45 am
By Ellen Kreth, For The Record
Newton County Quorum Court members passed a resolution at their Nov. 6 meeting opposing “the changing of the name designation or expansion of the Buffalo National River, and any further negative impact on the agricultural lands or infringement on private ownership on the Buffalo National River Watershed.”
The vote was unanimous with approximately 25 citizens in attendance.
Justice of the Peace Jamie Mefford said the court wanted to show its opposition to any name change, park expansion, private land rights restrictions and any agricultural restrictions.
Mefford said little discussion by court members took place before the vote because, “We’re all in agreement that we just don’t want the changes.”
The resolution follows recent discussions of making public lands around the Buffalo National River into a national park preserve.
In July 2022, the Runway Group approached U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., who represents Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District and chairs the Natural Resources Committee, with the idea re-designating the land.
The Buffalo National River became America’s first national river in 1972. At that time, the federal government used eminent domain on some landowners.
The Runway Group is owned by Steuart and Tom Walton, grandsons of Walmart founders Helen and Sam Walton.
Proponents of the idea emphasize re-designating federal land around the river will bring more tourism, jobs, and money, which could be used to improve the park’s infrastructure, as well as enhance economic benefits and growth to Newton and Searcy counties and their gateway communities.
In September, in an effort to gauge public opinion, the Runway Group hired Selzer & Co., who polled 412 voters in Baxter, Madison, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties about a change and produced a flyer with the results.
However, locals say they are opposed to the change. Mefford said no constituents have approached him in support of the idea.
“I couldn’t understand why they didn’t bring it to the local cities, and the local county governments before they ever even started anything with it,” Mefford said.
The Record broke the story on Oct. 4, making the public aware of discussions about re-designating lands.
Recently, Runway Group’s Vice President of Corporate and Community Affairs Krista Cupp said the group is not pressing forward with a re-designation. There are “no next steps,” she said.
Cupp said when the group approached Westerman, it didn’t present a proposal but asked if the re-designation was worth exploring.
Westerman has stated that no plans exist now to draft legislation turning the lands into a preserve.
Mefford realizes the county’s resolution holds no weight if a federal law were passed.
“We have no power over the federal government,” he said.
Mefford said even though the Runway Group has said it is no longer pursuing the option, “I think the next time we’ll hear about it, it’ll be up in Congress.
“You know, the people that are pushing this are very powerful and they have the money and they have the lobbyists.”
Mefford, who is serving his third two-year term, said people in his district and in Newton County remain on edge based upon recent large land purchases in the area.
Walton Enterprises, owned by the Walton family, owns more than 6,000 acres in Kingston in Madison County and has purchased three historic buildings on the Kingston Square they plan to renovate.
Unconfirmed reports indicate the Runway Group has made plans to purchase Horseshoe Canyon, a large dude ranch near Jasper in Newton County.
In 2020, Bass Pro Shop Founder Johnny Morris bought Dogpatch U.S.A., a theme park in Newton County that opened in 1968 but was shuttered in 1993.
Mefford said the recent land purchases have the court members considering ordinances that were passed in approximately 1998 dealing with county landowners rights.
“And we’re in the process of dragging that out and getting the dust off of it.”
Currently, the county has no zoning ordinances and requires no building permits.
Even though zoning requirements were brought up at Monday’s meeting, Mefford said, “We know what’s coming. It’s everywhere. But we don’t want to infringe on anybody’s property rights.
“Things have been simple, ’til now,” he said.
But “big growth” is coming and he’s worried about how the county will pay for it.
The county is at least “62 percent government owned,” but with very little tax base, receiving payments in lieu of taxes [PILT], Mefford said. PILT payments are “federal payments that help local governments offset losses in property taxes due to the existence of nontaxable Federal lands within their boundaries,” according to the U.S. Department of Interior.
“So we’re sitting here with 1,500 miles of dirt roads in this county. And we’ve got a $1.3 million budget, $1.4, a little more than that with FEMA, but it takes $800,000 to pay our employees in the road department and that don’t leave a lot,” Mefford said.
I’ve been thinking a lot about public lands lately, in part because the federal government has launched an initiative to “conserve” at least 30% of the country by 2030. Over the next two weeks, I’ll look at two controversies over public lands and conservation in the South. Up first: the Buffalo River.
NOV 7, 2023
For the people along the Buffalo River, in northwestern Arkansas, it was a lose-lose.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers wanted to build a dam that would flood their land. A bunch of nature lovers wanted to stop the dam by turning the river into one long park—what one local called a “130-mile-long zoo.”
The nature-lovers won, which is why in 1972 the Buffalo became the country’s first “national river,” a designation that protects the scenic character of this river. The federal government bought up the surrounding property, a fact that still stings. When I visited in 2021, one resident told me that local house fires are sometimes blamed on arson—the result of a still-simmering schism between those who would invite in tourists and those who would rather keep their old way of life intact.
Now, a half-century later, the Walton family is backing an effort to bring more attention to the Buffalo River—which has set off a new wave of anger.
A reader emailed me last week to tell me that more than a thousand people had turned up for a recent public meeting in the town of Jasper, Ark. That’s more than twice the town’s population.
The Buffalo winds through the Arkansas Ozarks, through proudly rural communities. The first time I visited, I didn’t realize that many of the surrounding counties are dry. My friends and I had to track down a “bootlegger” who sold cases of beer out of a backyard shed. You can go a bit north and get lost in the neon glitz of Branson, Missouri, but along the Buffalo the amenities are minimal. I fell in love with the region.
By the time I began to visit, the decision to turn the Buffalo River into a national river had been accepted as the “right course,” at least according to the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. (As one old-timer told the paper in 2012, “They took our land away, but it’s still there, and it’s not covered up by water.”) Back in September, locals began to receive phone calls from a research firm asking questions about whether they’d like to take the protections even further. The idea was to bump up the Buffalo from a “national river” to a “national park and preserve.”
A national park is a bigger deal than a national river.1 A mysterious group konwn as the “Coalition for the Buffalo River National Park Preserve” had sponsored the survey; a representative later said the hope is that a redesignation could “generate more funding” that can help with the upkeep of infrastructure along the river. The upgrade would require an act of Congress, and according to a flyer printed by the coalition (and cited by the Madison County Record, which has lifted its paywall on its excellent coverage of this issue), two-thirds of survey recipients would want their representatives to vote for such a bill.
The crowd in Jasper, though, saw things differently.
Our country’s national parks were, according to Wallace Stegner, “America’s best idea”—“absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”
I’m generally sympathetic to this idea, though, as always, if you zoom in close, you’ll find some blemishes. I’ll skip over the fact that establishing many parks required a process of ethnic cleansing, since I imagine that’s an idea familiar to most of my readers. But consider how the country’s first national park, at Yellowstone, came to be: a railroad company realized it stood to profit mightily if it could convince the federal government to establish a tourist park. For all the beauty of the national parks, this great American idea doubled as a scheme to help turn wealthy men even wealthier.
Fifty years after Yellowstone was founded, the federal government officially ended its program of lands sales. Nearly half the U.S. West remains public land. That sparked simmering resentment—a long effort to turn the vast expanses of public land into state or private property. (One prominent recent manifestation is the Bundy family.) But the self-dubbed “Sagebrush Rebellion” never gained much foothold in the South, for an obvious reason: by the late nineteenth century, almost all of the South had been privatized. The federal government owns 10% or less of most Southern states.
That created its own complications over public land, as the story of the Buffalo National River shows: parkland had to be wrested back from private owners, sometimes unwilling owners. What remains most salient here are issues of class; the fear in the Ozarks now is that the Yellowstone history is being repeated. At the meeting in Jasper—which was organized by various locals who were worried that the survey’s results were misleading—one resident declared that “rich men not from here are pushing to change a way of life.”
The Coalition for the Buffalo River National Park Preserve was eventually revealed to include one key member: a company called Runway LLC, which was launched by two of the grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton. Dogged reporting in the Recordrevealed that Runway’s leadership had been discussing the redesignation of the Buffalo River with state officials since at least the summer of 2022—long before any public discussion was held on the local level.
The Record also noted that another Walton-affiliated LLC has bought thousands of contiguous acres of land just west of the Buffalo, as well as three historic buildings on a town square, which are now undergoing renovation. The Waltons are working to rebrand the Ozarks as “Oz”—as an exciting, liveable place for young professionals. (The Walton family is not alone: Johnny Morris, the owner of Bass Pro Shops, has already opened a private “nature park” near the Buffalo River.) It’s easy enough to connect the dots, then: “The proposed project appears to be primarily a marketing tool to increase economic development of the surrounding area,” as the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance has put it.
One point of contention is the murky label “national park and preserve.” National parks and national preserves are different categories, as the latter designation allows certain “consumptive uses” on the land, including hunting and fishing. That seems to be key to the Buffalo River proposal, given that its advocates are calling the river a potential sportsman’s paradise.2 The “park and preserve” concept would include various parcels, with the “preserve” land open to hunting, while the “park” land would be devoted to nonconsumptive recreation.
These conflicting labels, though, mean that what sounds like increased protection is not necessarily. Preserve is a looser category. Sometimes the management of national preserves is transferred to state or local authorities, who may not be as rigorous as the federal government in protecting the land.3
In the wake of the outrage, the Runway Group has “retracted” its proposal, according to according to the Record. Though they’ve also said there’s nothing to retract since they just wanted to start a conversation. But having a conversation seems to be another matter: after initially expressing their intention to attend, representatives from Runway decided not to join the meeting in Jasper.
I get the sense that some of the opponents of the new proposal don’t necessarily want more promotion—or more tourists. During coronavirus lockdowns, the Buffalo was mobbed by crowds, and it’s not clear that a new national park and preserve would receive enough funding to keep up with the increased tourism it might attract. The Buffalo River and the surrounding parkland may technically belong to every American, at this point, but if every American came to visit, that would not be great for the river itself.
Here we get to an essential but little-asked question when it comes to “protecting” and “conserving” nature: what are we trying to achieve? Is this for the sake of nature? Or is it so that we—the rest of the country—have a store of lands where we can go out and see beauty? Some along the Buffalo believe this land will be best protected by being left alone, in relative obscurity. It doesn’t need to be everyone’s river, because it’s theirs.
The debate over public land is not only a debate over the future of nature—but also over how society as a whole should relate to that nature. Next week, in part two of this series, we’ll turn our attention to Florida, where the pressures of capitalism have forged unusual alliances between people who typically fight over conservation.
southlands is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Subscribe
Democrat Gazette
Opinion
by Rex Nelson | Today at 4:10 a.m.
History is repeating itself in the Arkansas Ozarks.
When a brave band of environmentalists began the fight decades ago to have the Buffalo River designated as the nation’s first national river, their strongest opposition came from area residents. Now that a new group is attempting to have the river upgraded to national park status, complaints are again being heard.
The difference in this era of social media is that misinformation spreads like wildfire, people become upset, and politicians feel the need to demagogue an issue rather than simply explain the facts.
“The continual threat of a dam on the Buffalo caught the attention of Arkansas conservation groups and those who had begun using the river for recreation,” Suzie Rogers writes for the Central Arkansas Library System’s Encyclopedia of Arkansas. “In the early 1960s, advocates for dams and advocates for a free-flowing stream formed opposing organizations. The pro-dam Buffalo River Improvement Association, established by James Tudor of Marshall, and the anti-dam Ozark Society, which included environmentalist Neil Compton, emerged as the leading players in the drama.
“The dam proponents worked with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Rep. James Trimble. The free-flowing stream advocates made overtures to the U.S. Department of the Interior. In 1961, a National Park Service planning team undertook a site survey of the Buffalo River area. The team was favorably impressed and recommended establishment of a park on the Buffalo River to be called a national river.” Years of intense political and public relations battles followed.
“A decade of political maneuverings, speeches and media attention—including a canoe trip on the Buffalo by Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas—came to a head in December 1965 when Gov. Orval Faubus wrote the Corps that he could not support the idea of a dam on the Buffalo,” Rogers writes. “The Corps withdrew its proposal. In 1966, John Paul Hammerschmidt of Harrison defeated Trimble and indicated that he would support the concept of creating a park along the river.
“Hammerschmidt and Sens. J. William Fulbright and John L. McClellan introduced the first Buffalo National River park legislation in 1967. The final park legislation was introduced in 1971, and hearings were held in late 1971. In February 1972, Congress voted to establish the nation’s first national river.” President Richard Nixon signed legislation to put the river under the protection of the National Park Service on March 1, 1972, a century after the establishment of Yellowstone, the first national park.
The law states: “That for the purposes of conserving and interpreting an area containing unique scenic and scientific features, and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the Buffalo River in Arkansas for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, the Secretary of the Interior … may establish and administer the Buffalo National River.” The area overseen by NPS encompasses 135 miles of the 150-mile-long river. According to the law, total acreage can’t exceed 95,730 acres. Hunting and fishing are allowed as traditional uses. Many residents were given an option to use their land for up to 25 years. Still, eminent domain proceedings were necessary, and feelings were hurt.
There has always been a deep distrust of government in the hills of Newton, Searcy, Marion, Madison and Baxter counties. That distrust erupted again this fall with word that a coalition is floating the idea of making the Buffalo National River a national park preserve. A regular national park restricts hunting and other activities. A national park preserve would protect hunting, fishing and trapping rights.
The group is using as a model New River Gorge National Park and Preserve in West Virginia. It allows hunting and fishing and doesn’t require fees or permits.
New River Gorge National River was established in 1978. It was redesignated in 2021 as New River Gorge National Park and Preserve. It encompasses more than 70,000 acres along 53 miles of the New River. The river, thought to be among the oldest rivers in the world, carved the deepest and longest river gorge in the Appalachian Mountains.
Why the status change? Because national park status will make the Buffalo a higher priority inside the National Park Service. And adding “preserve” prohibits additional restrictions and fees. Rumors about use of eminent domain and stringent restrictions are simply false. Elected officials need to have the guts to tell their constituents that the rumors have no basis in fact.
“We’re loving the Buffalo to death,” says Mike Mills, the Arkansas outdoors icon who knows more about the river than anyone alive. Mills says more federal funding is needed for parking at trailheads and for public restrooms. People now park along roads, often blocking traffic. They also use the woods as their restroom. Most of the current infrastructure dates back to the late 1970s.
Austin Albers, president and owner of Buffalo Outdoor Center, told The Madison County Record: “You’re looking at positive economic impact, prolonging and protecting the national park, the national river, protecting what brings people here—hunting, fishing, floating, all of that. None of that changes. And that’s why it’s a national park preserve and not just a national park.
“So if we can transition to a national park preserve versus a national river …. and get more infrastructure put into place, I think it’s a win for everybody.” Rumors began to spread when the coalition hired Selzer & Co. to poll 412 voters in Baxter, Madison, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties. The survey was conducted Sept. 11-13. It found that: m 95 percent were in favor of no private land being taken to create a national park preserve.
m 93 percent were in favor of rules protecting the river from pollution and industrial uses.
m 89 percent opposed any new taxes to support the national park preserve.
m 86 percent were in favor of grandfathering local businesses into any new commercial business rules.
m 83 percent were in favor of hunting regulations staying the same.
m 64 percent said they would want their member of Congress to vote for designation of the river as a national park preserve.
Nearly a fifth of Americans are within 500 miles of the Buffalo National River. In that area, there are only three national parks: Hot Springs, Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and Gateway Arch in Missouri. None of those are recreation-focused areas.
“More visitors are coming,” a flyer from the coalition states. “Our natural lands must be actively preserved—or be lost. Private investments are certainly expected to increase interest and visitors. . . . In this rural part of the country, nature is treasured and many make their living from an economy that depends on tourism. Requiring only a change in the lands’s designation, more visitors will bring more jobs and more economic benefits.” In addition to their distrust of government, those who live in these hills distrust outsiders. They’re concerned by the large amounts of land being bought by entities associated with brothers Tom and Steuart Walton of Bentonville. I know the Walton brothers, and I want to make one thing clear: Their motives are pure. They realize that our state’s ability to attract and keep talented people in the decades ahead will rest in part on our protecting and enhancing outdoor recreational attributes.
The Walton brothers could live anywhere in the world and do anything they want. But their focus these days is on enhancing quality of life in Arkansas. Other states should be so lucky. Their involvement in the Coalition for Buffalo River National Park Preserve doesn’t worry me. It gives me hope that this effort will succeed.
—––––– –––––—
Rex Nelson is a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.
by Mike Masterson | November 4, 2023
An Arkansas LLC's exploratory idea to change the designation of our half-century-old Buffalo National River into a national park and preserve to promote "the best path forward to conserve our national treasure" drew an unfavorable earful from about 1,000 Newton County residents and others at a town-hall meeting in Jasper last week.
Reporters for the Harrison Daily Times and other media outlets squeezed into the wall-to-wall crowd at the school cafeteria to document the responses of those who would be directly affected by the concept.
A Newton County heritage preservation group called the Remnants Project had invited the Runway Group, which had been heading conversations and conducting a poll about the economic growth potential of the Buffalo National River region and making into a national park, the Times reported in an in-depth account. Representatives of Runway chose not to attend the Jasper gathering, which many found surprising.
Founded by Tom and Steuart Walton, Runway is a holding company that invests in real estate and businesses in northwest Arkansas including outdoor initiatives, but hasn't made any formal statement except to say it is in early-stage conversations around the Buffalo's designation and are eager to listen and collaborate with the community.
Of the 10 speakers, some like Gordon Watkins of Parthenon with the Buffalo Watershed Alliance (and friend from the Buffalo River hog factory struggles a few years back) said that due to the influx of tourists to the river and large surrounding land acquisitions, the people who live in Newton County and the immediate region need a seat at the table when it comes to proposing changes so they're not taken by surprise.
He said his organization would be opposed to acquisition of an unwilling seller's property, or any plan that failed to ensure sustainable preservation of the water quality.
The level of government mistrust in the national park idea was apparent in the room in a community that has grown up enjoying, appreciating and making a living from the river.
Billy Bell of Newton County, who grew up on the Buffalo and its tributaries, expressed some of those feelings, the paper wrote. "Playing on the popularity of a recent song, he said, 'Rich Men Not From Here' are pushing to change residents' way of life. He said he sees a bait and switch operation playing on the people's emotions and as a scare tactic. The river is public land and it and its public uses are already adequately protected, he said. Re-designation is not needed and we do not need other people to decide how to change 'our' Buffalo River. He said proponents of re-designation are using the old battle cry, 'Save the Buffalo River,' to spin public opinion and exploit the Buffalo National River for their own personal gain."
Wendy Finn of Fayetteville reviewed survey results and said they were confusing and lacked sufficient facts for a respondent to give an informed answer, and the data can possibly be skewed.
Finn also pointed out that Runway concluded 64 percent of those surveyed were in favor of changing the river to a national park or preserve. However, surveyors failed to explain what the terms in the survey meant, which is critical to understand the implications and conclusions drawn from it.
State Sen. Bryan King of Green Forest, whose district includes portions of the Buffalo, offered thoughts on those results and said he felt obligated to make certain his constituents understood what was happening with the river. "This train had been rolling down the track. I didn't want the people I represent to be railroaded," he said.
Referring to the survey. King said only those living in the watershed should have been polled; his investigation of the survey showed that though 14 percent of the watershed is in Baxter County, 47 percent of the respondents lived there.
As someone born 20 minutes from the Buffalo, I spent many a childhood summer's day wading, fishing, swimming and enjoying its magnificence. Little wonder it attracts scores of thousands from around the country that annually leave behind millions of dollars in these hills. And with a late uncle who in 1972 was a key political figure in designating our Buffalo as the country's first national river, I naturally have an interest in this idea to commercialize the natural beauty beyond what exists.
True, it would bring additional millions of people to the region to enjoy what is already a crowded stream during seasonal months. Bumper-to-bumper canoes floating through groups of swimmers and fishermen isn't an attractive way to attract tourism.
True, it would bring in more money as a tradeoff for what we have. True, it would bring additional commercial ventures with thousands more T-shirts, knick-knacks, peanut brittle and canoe rentals. And I really can't fault anyone for floating the idea of expanding and enlarging the gift God has given us to preserve and protect.
But I've never considered the Buffalo a commercial draw to lucrative traffic from many more visitors to further overcrowd the sanctuary. That strikes me as neither necessary nor wise.
While I do appreciate the way this idea has been approached--asking the people for their thoughts before simply barging ahead behind the scenes then announcing a plan as a done deal--I believe the "best path forward" is leaving well enough alone in our Buffalo's busy, pristine and well-protected waters.
Now go out into the world and treat everyone you meet exactly like you want them to treat you.
Mike Masterson is a longtime Arkansas journalist, was editor of three Arkansas dailies and headed the master's journalism program at Ohio State University. Email him at mmasterson@arkansasonline.com.
Newton County Times
Posted Wednesday, November 1, 2023 8:00 am
Staff Report
JASPER — A town hall meeting to hear from proponents of further conserving the Buffalo National River area was held as scheduled Thursday night, Oct. 26, at the Jasper School cafeteria in Jasper. But the main invitees did not attend. However, more than an estimated 1,000 people did show up with several publicly voicing opposition to a group's proposal to have the national river re-designated either a national park or preserve. Misty Langdon, creator of the Remnants Project, a nonprofit heritage preservation group in Newton County, called for the meeting with the Runway Group LLC, which was leading conversations and had conducted a poll among some residents about their feelings and beliefs about economic growth of the Buffalo National River region. Runway is a holding company that invests in real estate, outdoor initiatives, hospitality, and businesses in Northwest Arkansas. Its founders are brothers Tom and Steuart Walton. The company has not made any formal, or public statements, other than what it has published on its website runwaynwa.com and have been circulated over social media. It has also established info@futureofthebuffalo.org, the Coalition for the Future of the Buffalo River National Park Preserve. “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.” Langdon said she hoped the town hall event would give clarity to the proponents’ proposals, provide local residents with first-hand information and give them the opportunity to ask questions, she said, but was disappointed when Runway representatives contacted her Thursday morning and told her they would not attend. According to a statement appearing on the organization's website, "We think the town hall is a great idea and the first step to bringing this idea to the table. We’ve been informed of the upcoming town hall and shared with the organizer that we looked forward to hearing how the conversation unfolded. For all voices to be heard without distractions, Runway will not be formally attending." School officials said about 850 chairs were set up in the cafeteria. All were taken leaving standing room only. The overflow of people went out into the student union area and the adjoining hallway. The Newton County Library was also broadcasting the event on Zoom. Library director Kenya Windel said all 500 Zoom reservations were filled. The meeting, which lasted about an hour and 40 minutes, was also aired live on the library's Facebook page where she said it would be archived. Moderator for the evening was Jasper Mayor Michael Thomas. He said written questions would be accepted from the audience at the end of the presentation from a panel of speakers. Each question would be forwarded to the proper group or individual who could possibly answer it. Or, individuals could pose their question on Zoom after the meeting. The panel consisted of 10 speakers. Jackie Alexander representing Back Country Horsemen of Arkansas and America was the first presenter. The non-profit group's mission is the common sense use and enjoyment of horses in the back country and the wilderness, she said. It works to ensure public lands remain open to recreational stock use. She gave an accounting of the number of volunteers and the hours of service contributed to maintaining horse trails along the river. She said she was not attending the meeting to state a position on behalf of the organization, but to learn. None of the members' interests have been discussed or mentioned as being accommodated with whatever plan is coming to the river, Alexander said, adding the contributions of the organization have not been recognized, either. "We want to be included and be part of the conversation going forward." Wendy Finn, of Fayetteville, agreed. “We need to be a part of these decisions so they don't make decisions about our lives without us.” Finn reviewed some of the results of the survey Runway used to come to its conclusions. The survey can be confusing where there is a lack of information to make an informed decision as a respondent to the survey and where the data can possibly be skewed, she said. The conclusion the Runway Group drew from the survey was 64% of those surveyed were in favor of designating the Buffalo River a national park and preserve. But those surveyors did not define what those terms meant for the respondents and that is crucial to understand the implications and the conclusions that could be drawn from the survey, Finn pointed out. The national river designation has been in effect since 1972. It preserves free flowing streams and prohibits dams or alterations of the waterway. It protects it from industrial uses, but allows hiking, canoeing and hunting.
Arkansas Advocate
A state panel on Tuesday rejected a proposal to create a recreation master plan for the Buffalo National River in favor of a project that aims to improve water quality through community engagement.
The Buffalo River Conservation Committee approved the disbursement of its remaining funds, $69,676, to support H2Ozarks’ proposal to hold landowner workshops and implement water quality monitoring in the Mill Creek sub-watershed.
H2Ozarks’ proposal was one of two water quality projects the panel asked submitters to refine after its September meeting. The second project came from the United States Geological Survey, which proposed a one-year seepage study of a Buffalo River tributary.
The committee also considered a new proposal Tuesday from the Office of Outdoor Recreation, a division of the Arkansas Department of Parks, Heritage and Tourism. Office of Outdoor Recreation Director Katherine Andrews proposed granting the funds to communities surrounding the Buffalo National River corridor to hire a third-party firm to develop a recreation master plan of existing trail connectivity.
Andrews said the project would be community-led so community members would select the firm. Her office could help facilitate discussions and implement the finalized master plan, but Andrews said any trail connections recommended through the master plan would be completed by the communities themselves. Andrews noted there are several grant programs available that could help communities to fund trail connections.
The proposal prompted a number of questions, including one about how feasible it would be for communities to connect to existing trails in the federal land of the Buffalo National River, which is surrounded by a lot of private land.
Approximately 60% of the land within the Buffalo River Watershed is privately owned, according to the committee’s 2022 annual report. Federal ownership accounts for about 37% and 3% of the watershed is owned by the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
One audience member said he was concerned that “if a master plan is developed, then the state will use that master plan against us in the future.” Another man said the proposal would “not be received as well as you think it will” due to ongoing controversy around a proposal to re-designate the federal lands along the Buffalo National River as a national park preserve.
A national river designation preserves free-flowing streams, protects the waterway from industrial uses, and allows for hiking, canoeing and hunting. A national park preserve loosens those restrictions, opens the door for potential mineral extraction and allows management to be transferred to local or state control.
The history of the Buffalo River Conservation Committee dates back to 2016 when then-Gov. Asa Hutchinson created the Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee, which developed a voluntary watershed management plan. Hutchinson replaced the group three years later by establishing the Buffalo River Conservation Committee through executive order.
Following legislative approval in 2019, $1 million from the governor’s discretionary fund was transferred to an Arkansas Department of Agriculture account to support grants and projects within the Buffalo River Watershed. Private donors pledged an additional $1 million in support of the Buffalo River Watershed Enhancement Project.
In 2021, the Arkansas General Assembly passed Act 785 to codify the Buffalo River Conservation Committee into law. The legislation retained the secretaries of the Departments of Agriculture; Health; Energy and Environment; and Parks, Heritage and Tourism as committee members, and added two new ones — the county judges from Newton and Searcy counties.
Over the years, the committee has funded a variety of projects, including a city of Jasper wastewater treatment facility improvements, a U.S. Geological Survey water survey and feral hog eradication efforts.
Tuesday’s meeting included discussions about the need for continued funding to support projects like the three proposals presented to the committee.
Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View, said she plans to file an appropriations bill in next year’s fiscal session, and hopes she’ll get support.
Posted Wednesday, November 1, 2023
JASPER — After a town hall meeting last Thursday, proponents of turning public land around the Buffalo National River into a national park preserve said they would step back from the idea. The following day, a website touting the benefits of re-designating the land was taken down.
But opponents of the idea are not backing down and don’t trust that efforts to re-designate the land are no longer ongoing.
Misty Langdon, owner of Steel Creek Cabins, who organized the town hall meeting, said proponents have poured too much time, resources and money “into this project that seems to be linked to Bryan Sanders [Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ husband],” to just walk away.
In July 2022, the Runway Group approached U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Ark., who represents Arkansas’ 4th Congressional District and chairs the Natural Resources Committee, with the idea of making public land around the river a national park preserve.
Grandsons of Walmart founder Sam Walton and co-founders of the Runway Group, Steuart and Tom Walton are investors in real estate, outdoor initiatives, conservation, recreation, hospitality and businesses in Northwest Arkansas.
Walton Enterprises currently owns more than 6,000 acres in Kingston in Madison County.
The Runway Group also has been linked with working with the governor’s office and the First Gentleman on the possibility of re-designating public lands.
Last Friday, Runway Group’s Vice President of Corporate and Community Affairs Krista Cupp said the group watched the town hall meeting. She reiterated they are not going forward with any proposal for re-designation. There are “no next steps,” she said.
“We wanted to explore a new idea for our home state together. However, this is not our decision to make. There is no new action being taken,” a statement issued earlier by the Runway Group said.
Cupp said when the group approached Westerman, it didn’t present a proposal to re-designate the land but simply asked if the idea was worth exploring.
Westerman, who had two staff members attend the town hall, issued a statement saying, in part, “Although it is in the purview of the House Natural Resources Committee to advance legislation to designate National Parks, I’ve made it clear I would not support any proposition that does not have grass roots support from those that live, work, and raise their families in the Buffalo River watershed.”
Westerman also said no plan to write or introduce any legislation re-designating land is underway.
“As the Representative for Arkansas’s Fourth Congressional District, my first priority is advocating on behalf of my constituents. I will continue to listen to the thoughts and concerns of Arkansans that would be impacted by any change in designation,” Westerman stated.
“The governor is strongly committed to protecting Arkansans’ property rights, hunting rights, and the Buffalo National River,” Alexa Henning, Communications Director for Gov. Sanders, said in a statement.
“She has had an informal conversation with Congressman Westerman but hasn’t seen a plan or taken a position, and doesn’t anticipate any re-designation moving forward in Congress at this time.
“The First Gentleman does not support nor has he even discussed the idea of drilling or mining in the Buffalo National River,” Henning stated.
“The purpose of the Natural State Initiative is to promote outdoor recreation and grow tourism and the outdoor economy, and the First Gentleman is deeply committed to protecting the Buffalo National River and the rights of Arkansans in one of the most beautiful areas of our state.”
In January 2023, Gov. Sanders signed an executive order establishing the Natural State Advisory Group and appointed Bryan Sanders as chairman. Tom Walton is one of the 18 members of the group. So far no meetings have been announced or open to the public, but the group has been active in exchanging e-mails regarding tourism and parks plans.
Langdon said she believes the group for re-designation will “work quietly in the background, but if they are planning to take a step back — we’re ready to take a step forward and we can tango.
“Because this re-designation nonsense has us ready to protect what we hold dear — our way of life.
“We have seen statements from Congressman Westerman that he would need to see the support of the locals in order to get on board with this re-designation and if the crowd at the town hall is any indicator —I feel the community has made its’ position clear.
“I feel like Runway, Bryan Sanders and anyone else involved should see the writing on the wall and find another swimming hole to play in,” Langdon said.
Town hall meeting
At the town hall meeting, speakers questioned what the potential land re-designation involved, lashed out at the results of a recently conducted survey about the potential change and stressed their desires to preserve their way of life.
They spoke to an overflow-capacity, standing-room only crowd of 1,200 people — more than double the town’s population — that packed the Jasper High School Auditorium. More than 500 people grabbed up Zoom invitations early in the day and 1,400 people watched a livestream by the Newton County Library.
Jasper School Superintendent Candra Brasel could not remember seeing a crowd that large in the school auditorium.
Langdon was originally planning for 75, but quickly determined the widespread interest called for a large meeting area.
“When we hear of people with outside interests who want to commercialize our land and pave over our way life, we get riled up, and rightfully so,” stated Langdon, who is the seventh generation of her mother’s family to live on the same farm and the ninth generation to live on the river.
Jasper Mayor Mike Thomas, who was acting as town-hall moderator, seemed to be the only non-committal person on the agenda. When asked where he stood on the proposal, he told The Record, “I’m smart enough to know I need more information.”
Thomas said he hoped the night would answer questions about the short- and long-term effects re-designating lands.
Langdon invited the Runway Group to speak also but last week, “Runway informed me that they would no longer participate in the meeting. This is unfortunate as with the others who were invited who chose not to appear.”
Langdon received “a call this morning from Runway wishing us well and asking me to make a comment on their behalf. However, I feel that a statement would be better coming directly from their team,” she said as the crowd cheered.
A reserved chair with names of some of those not attending, including the Runway Group, Gov. Sanders and Bryan Sanders, sat empty on the stage.
Seat at the table
After hearing about the proposed re-designation when The Record broke the story on Oct. 4, speakers stressed they felt left out of discussions.
Before the meeting began, Boone County Justice of the Peace Fred Woehl told The Record when the Buffalo River was designated as a national river, the government “took some of my land.”
In 1972, the river received the designation as the country’s first national river.
Woehl said he was “ok” with the government’s action because the river has been an asset, but he resents not having a say now.
“Ain’t nobody up here that tells Little Rock what to do,” Woehl said. “So Little Rock shouldn’t tell Newton County what to do.”
Woehl said he knew Sam Walton and his grandsons are 180 degrees different from Sam Walton.
“Sam is spinning in his grave knowing what’s going on. Sam and I were friends.”
Woehl then turned and faced the crowd and asked a Record reporter, “Do you see any people here on a bike?”.
He was referring to bike trails built by and the interest in biking by the Tom and Steuart Walton, who have invested heavily in trails in Madison County and throughout the state.
Jacque Alexander with Backcountry Horseman got the first of many interruptions for applause and cheers when she said, “All classes of citizens need to be heard, not just the people with a lot of money,” referring to the Waltons and their wealth.
The Walton family is considered the wealthiest in America, amassing a fortune of more than $245 billion, according to Forbes magazine.
Newton County has an average median income of approximately $42,000, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
Gordon Watkins of Buffalo River Watershed Alliance said local people should have been involved in discussions from the beginning. He noticed large land purchases and thought, “Somebody is planning something.”
“If you don’t have a seat at the table, you’re on the menu,” he said.
Watkins was alarmed the Runway Group began discussions with Westerman rather than with people who live beside the river and on its tributaries.
Watkins recognizes the need to plan for future growth but wants to manage the current situation before bringing in more tourists, such as seeing trash picked up and toilets cleaned.
The Runway Group could use the re-designation as a marketing tool to increase economic development, Gordon said. Cupp said it always has been about economic development as well as community input and feedback.
Sen. Bryan King, R-Green Forest, who represents District 28, questioned the Runway Group’s transparency. “When everyone wants to take something, they’re not going to tell you,” King said.
King told the crowd the local people should have been informed from the beginning. “I know this train had been rolling down the tracks,” he said.
Jared Phillips, a writer, farmer and historian, who teaches at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said he is tired of seeing land values triple.
“When do we as people from the hills get to sit at the table and have a say?” he asked “This is our home and we don’t get asked about it.”
Phillips said with the developments in the area, he feels less welcome. He feels the Waltons are “telling us regular folks in the Ozarks we’re in the way of what rich folks want to do.”
He also questioned why some elected officials chose not to attend the town hall, asking where they were and what could be more important. “Junior high football is almost over,” he said.
Poll Results
In September, in an effort to gauge public opinion, the Runway Group said it hired Selzer & Co., who polled 412 voters in Baxter, Madison, Marion, Newton and Searcy counties about a change in land designation and produced a flyer with the results.
Jasper native Wendy Finn, who lives on a farm that has been in her family for 123 years, went over results from the survey, poking holes in results, stating that the survey was flawed, and asserting it was confusing and not comprehensive.
Finn’s slide presentation viewed on large screens in the auditorium started with “technical difficulties,” that she “didn’t anticipate but we’re going to make this work as we do in Newton County,” which has limited broadband accessibility.
“They drew conclusions and put them on so-called, ‘fact sheets,’” Finn said of the survey.
She said the poll was confusing because people polled were left thinking, “What’s happening,” or “My head is spinning.”
Speakers also mocked the selection of those polled. King said people in attendance were a better representation of how people feel about the proposal rather than the Runway poll and stated the people who actually live in the watershed should have been polled.
Tourism
Langdon pointed out that the survey and information from Runway showed a potential increase in tourism from 1.5 million to 2.4 million, a 60% increase, which she said, “will change our landscape.”
Re-designating land will bring in more tourists increasing taxes and adding to economic growth in the area, according to those in favor of re-designation.
“You’re looking at positive economic impact, prolonging and protecting the national park, the national river, protecting what brings people here, so hunting, fishing, floating, all that. None of that changes. And that’s why it’s a national park preserve and not just a national park,” according to Austin Albers, president and owner of Buffalo Outdoor Center.
“So they’re seeing, not necessarily more river usage, but more people coming into the area, so more lodging, more restaurants, more purchases of fuel and using the services in the area,” he said in an earlier interview with The Record.
“It’s bringing more positive infrastructure to one of our poorest areas in the state,” Albers said.
The Buffalo National River saw a 6.5% increase in tourism during the Covid-19 pandemic. “This area is no stranger to the tourism industry,” she said.
Phillips said an increase in tourism makes land more expensive by increasing taxes and, “We have to leave.”
He also said an influx of tourists makes working in the area harder.
“Think of it if you’re trying to haul a trailer and have to get through a mess of tourists,” he said. “It’s getting to where you can’t work.”
Jack Stewart of the Audubon Society told The Record, “Sometimes we tend to love our special places to death.” He said people are fearful, “We’ll be overwhelmed with tourists and it will completely change the area.”
Preserve a way of life
Newton County resident Billy Bell, who worked as a resource protection ranger on the river for 13 years and for 20 years in resource management and protection, drew a standing ovation after he spoke.
“I am not for the re-designation of the Buffalo National River,” Bell emphasized and then paused. “Give me one minute. I’m very passionate about this at the moment,” he said, becoming emotional.
Bell drew a correlation regarding the song, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” and said in the current situation the lyrics could be, “Rich Men Not From Here.”
Bell said, “Rich men not from here brought the Buffalo National River into being using the battle cry, ‘Save the Buffalo River.’
“Rich men not from here recently decided what kind of farming we should or should not be able to do on our own land, also using the battle cry, ‘Save The Buffalo.’
“And today it appears rich men not from here are pushing to change our way of life once again.”
The crowd cheered and applauded when Bell said rich men were using the battle cry of “Save the Buffalo River” to spin public opinion and exploit the river “for their own personal gain.”
President of Newton County Farm Bureau Jack Boles also drew a groundswell of applause when he said his organization “opposes any name change to the Buffalo National River or expansion or re-designation.”
Going Forward
Stewart, along with Watkins, stressed the need for a plan of the area. Watkins said he hoped the justices of peace would work together to come up with a plan for management of the area’s growth.
“Without an agreed upon vision, it will be easy for some group to divide us and conquer,” Stewart said.
Attorney Brinkley Cook-Campbell, who grew up in Mt. Judea, said, “We have a pretty wonderful status quo going on,” that isn’t broken and doesn’t need to be fixed.
He then read a letter and encouraged others to get a copy to send to their representatives, senators and other elected officials.
Some parts of the letter read, “We want to raise our grandchildren to appreciate this area. We want to teach them to bottle feed a calf on the family farm. We want to take them floating on the Buffalo. We want them to be able to hunt and fish, to hike and to rock climb, and above all, we want them to love their fellow people and respect nature.
“‘National Park’ or ‘National Park Preserve’ status would mean an end to our way of life,” the letter said.
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.
KUAF Radio
By Jacqueline Froelich
Listen here
A wrecked gaudy metal sign just off Highway 7 between Jasper and Harrison, Arkansas that once lured tourists into the legendary Dogpatch USA amusement park still stands. But chained entry gates bar the public from entering what's now a massive construction zone. After Bass Pro Shop founder and CEO Johnny Morris bought the vacant t 400-acre park in early 2020 for $1.2 million dollars, ground was broken on the new tourist attraction called Marble Falls Nature Park. A year later, Morris spoke briefly to a KY3-Missouri television reporter about the purchase.
“First time I was exposed to it was three or four years ago and it was pretty dilapidated, the buildings run down," Morris said. "But what is there is beautiful nature, limestone bluffs, a huge spring. We plan to build a restaurant there, and take our time to develop nature trails. They had a big trout hatchery there, so one of our first goals is to reactivate the hatchery.”
The spring-fed trout hatchery and ponds are impounded by Marble Falls, which cascades into Mill Creek, a tributary of the Buffalo National River. The trout farm was originally built in the 1930s by Newton County native Albert Raney, Sr., said grandson James Devito, retired owner of Devito's Restaurant in Eureka Springs.
“The family lore is that grandpa bought about 800 acres after the railroad had been through Newton County and timbered out most of the large trees," he said. "I heard that he paid like a couple of dollars an acre for the land that consisted of Bluff Springs and and the falls at Marble Falls.”
Devito recalled later visiting Dogpatch USA, built on his grandfather's land, which opened in 1968.
“The park consisted of everything from a train that transited around the park and there were motorized boats that you could use in the lake," he said. "There were various thrill rides like you would see at any carnival. There was also a tram that took you from a parking lot above the park down into to the park itself. And later what developed in the upper part of the park was a winter scene, with a ski slope, and a skating rink and lodge.”
Visitors to the amusement park gradually dwindled in the 1980s, drawn to other places like Silver Dollar City in Branson and the Victorian-era village of Eureka Springs in Carroll County, before closing in 1993. Devito said he recently stopped by the site, to check out construction progress on the new nature park centered on the Bluff Springs area.
“What I did see was they exposed a tunnel shaft right next to the spring that we had no idea existed," he said. "And there's some work that they've done above the springs which. And if it's like Dogwood Canyon, I have a feeling that you'll be seeing a large waterfall cascading above where the spring exits from that side of the bluff.”
Dogwood Canyon Nature Park near Lampe, Missouri, purchased by Johnny Morris in 1990 when the site was an RV hunting campground, was slowly transformed into a majestic 10,000-acre private preserve where patrons for a price can hike, cycle, horseback ride, fish, and take wildlife tours. Reserved one-day tickets cost $21 dollars for adults $15 for kids. The cost is even higher at the gate. Morris also builds high-end nature resorts, lodges and museums.
The nature preserves are a mission of the Johnny Morris Conservation Foundation,which “advances conservation by honoring the traditions of hunting and fishing.” Funding is infused into the foundation by Bass Pro Shop a privately-held sporting goods retailer with peak revenue in 2022 reportedly valued at $6.5 billion dollars.
“I struggle a little bit to even grasp the impact which we expect to be really significant," said Harrison Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Wilson Marseilles, who believes the attraction will bring much-needed revenue to the region.
"[Especially] for residents looking for jobs in conservation, tourism, and hospitality," Marseilles said. "Some of it is speculation on on what it will end up being, and the full impact but we expect it to be pretty significant with the amount of capital investment that we know is going to be there. And the amount of infrastructure that they're building out, it's an exciting time, it really is, so we're just kind of waiting for more information as it continues to come out.”
In recent years, little information about the park's development has been released to the public. No website exists. After the parcel was purchased, a Bass Pro Shop official met with members of the state's Buffalo River Conservation Committee, where he announced that the park would provide 600 construction jobs, hire 170 park employees, generate $1.4 million dollars in sales tax revenue and $324 thousand dollars in annual property taxes.
Vixen James, a third-generation Newton County native, attended that meeting. He’s a local realtor and president of the Newton County Chamber. He agrees that locals have been kept in the dark about the park’s progress.
“I believe that it’s true that you know when they do have their plans and timelines established, that they do want to engage the public or at least the stakeholders to keep them informed," he said. "And to to work with them, but they're not at that point and they're not releasing any of that.”
A query to Bass Pro Shop for this report about developments of the new preserve yielded no response. Morris owns property on either side of the highway leading into the park, and rumors are circulating that he may fund widening sections of Highway 7 to ease access into the new preserve, although a state transportation department official said no formal proposal or plans have been submitted. County resident Vixen James says road widening could be a possible course of action.
“But again they're so professional in the way they approach their projects," he said, "they're very disciplined, and until they have timed out plans, they're not speaking to it.”
The Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality is monitoring for any breaches of the park's stormwater construction permit. ADEQ records and photographs tracing back to 2020 show extensive earthwork, including a new gorge, berms and enlargement of a cave opening on Bluff Springs. State environmental investigators have documented multiple incidents of turbidity in ponds and streams, caused by dredging and construction sediments in violation of federal and state clean water rules, holding park facility managers to compliance. Local residents, not wanting to be identified for this report, say historically the ponds and streams on the site ran clear, but now contain lots of algae.
Anticipating that hundreds of thousands of visitors could annually patronize the new nature preserve which lies in the Buffalo National River watershed, more than $1.6 million dollars in state funding assistance to improve a nearby wastewater treatment facility serving the unincorporated community of Marble Falls was approved by the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission in late 2021.
Arkansas realtor Stuart Nance, a fourth-generation Newton County native, back in 2020, brokered the sale of Dogpatch USA to Johnny Morris, DBA, as Down by the Falls, LLC.
“My ancestors homesteaded the Pruitt area, they were the Pruitt family," he said. "And my parents to this day still live on the Pruitt homestead which is all the land south of Dogpatch to the Buffalo River, 1100 acres, which we recently sold to Johnny. So Johnny Morris now owns continuously from the Boone County line, the Dogpatch property and the Nance/Pruitt ranch.”
But if or how that additional property will be developed by Morris is not known. Nance also said his family once held the keys to the abandoned Dogpatch property back in 2011, the result of a court-ordered settlement -- three years later, selling the amusement park for $2 million dollars. That owner was forced into foreclosure, with the Nance family repossessing the parcel for a time. Unable to manage upkeep or restore the historic site, the facility was scheduled for public auction on the Newton County Courthouse steps in March 2020. But a month before the auction could take place, Johnny Morris, Nance said, stepped forward, making an offer no one could refuse.
Tags
Published November 1, 2023
KUAF Radio - Listen here
Published October 30, 2023 at 2:20 PM CDT
LISTEN • 6:40
Matthew Moore: I’m here with Jacqueline Froelich, Ozarks at Large senior news producer, to discuss a town hall meeting held Thursday in Jasper in Newton County about a controversial effort to expand the Buffalo National River into a national park preserve. As you’ve reported, the Walton-backed Runway Group in Bentonville has been leading this effort. They’ve met with state and federal officials – but not the public. So how many turned out for the town hall meeting and what was the tone?
Jacqueline Froelich: I spoke with Wendy Finn, a co-organizer of the town hall, who along with Misty Langdon — a seventh generation Newton County farmer — have formed a group to thwart re-designating the river. Finn said 1,185 showed up for the town hall in person, with 1,900 attending virtually. The event was calm, she added, but attendees were upset and confused about how changing the park could impact their lives.
“People were angry at the idea of possibly losing land," Finn said. "I think most people oppose a designation change to the Buffalo National River.”
MM: The meeting featured a panel comprised of natives, several farmers, an attorney, a state senator, an Arkansas Farm Bureau official, an environmentalist and a scholar. All of them oppose a park preserve?
JF: Yes. The audio stream quality is not the best, but this is Newton County native Billy Bell.
“I have spent my entire life playing on or in the Buffalo National River or its tributaries," Bell said. "I am not for re-designation for the Buffalo National River.”
JF: Reciting verse, Bell told the crowd that “rich men not from here are pushing to change a way of life.” He was referring to Runway Group LLC, based in Bentonville. The well-regarded private company, operated by Walmart heirs Tom and Steuart Walton, invest in real estate, businesses, outdoor recreation, and conservation. Runway’s interest in re-designating the Buffalo River came to light in September when the Waltons commissioned a survey, later posting results online as “The Coalition for Buffalo River National Park Preserve.” The five-county survey shows a majority would support a park preserve. But I’ve been told the survey failed to include an adequate number of residents in Newton County, which lies in the heart of Buffalo River watershed.
MM: Why is Runway Group involved in this?
JF: Runway’s spokesperson, J.T. Geren in an email to Ozarks at Large wrote that changing the national river to a national park preserve will provide benefits to surrounding communities and help with needed infrastructure improvement to support an ever-growing number of tourists. Data show that last year, the Buffalo National River attracted 1.3 million visitors who spent nearly $65 million dollars on food, accommodations and outfitters.
MM: Re-designating a national river will require an act of Congress. You queried Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders about her role in this, and were told Sanders had spoken with U.S. Congressman Bruce Westerman, R-AR. The watershed is located in his district. When she took office, Sanders vowed to make Arkansas a top recreation destination, signing an executive order establishing the Natural State Advisory Council, appointing her husband Bryan Sanders as chair?
JF: Yes. But the thing is, key stakeholders including staff with the Buffalo River National Park Service and founder of the apex environmental group Buffalo River Watershed Alliance were excluded from this process. We spoke with Alliance president Gordon Watkins, after the town hall.
"I think it was unfortunate the way they chose to proceed with this project," Watkins said, "and that began at the top with Congressman Westerman's office from what we can tell back in July of 2022.”
JF: Which was startling to hear, that this has been in motion for well over a year. Watkins said that the best way to discuss major projects like this is to talk directly to the people and that means starting from the bottom, not at the top. He did say Runway Group agreed to meet with him virtually, the day before the town hall gathering. Nothing new was revealed, he said. But he was told the company is backing off leading what it's described as “an economic development project.” It’s unclear who will take over and what’s next. Congressman Westerman is reportedly planning his own town hall meeting.
MM: But to better understand the consequence of a national park preserve, you spoke with Allan Franco, a lawyer who researches rural land use regulation who's familiar with Runway's effort?
JF: Yes, Allan Franco told me it will be up to Congress to legislate what activities will be allowed on the preserve within a declared Buffalo River National Park boundary. But he also commented on the economic interests pushing for this change.
“Well we know that they're going to be interested in making a profit off the Buffalo National River," Franco said. "One way that they could do that is through tourism and vacation rentals. Right now the current legislation doesn't expressly allow for vacation rentals. Other national preserve designations in more recent years have specifically allowed for vacation rentals within the park boundary.”
JF: I was surprised to hear this as well. But it makes sense given several Arkansas lawmakers have sponsored legislation to nullify county and municipal codes to control short-term rental sprawl -- which has been shown to vastly reduce affordable residential housing. Franco also said if a national park preserve facility is approved by Congress, resulting in an expanded footprint, it's unlikely that private property — based on recent federal trends — would be taken thru eminent domain condemnation. Instead he says property would be acquired through purchase. As for what's called consumptive activities such as hunting, animal grazing, industrial agriculture, minerals and fuels extraction on a re-designated Buffalo National River Park Preserve? All of it is allowed, but again, the details will be up to Congress to decide.
MM: You also asked Runway Group if the company has donated support to the Buffalo National River Foundation to improve things like trails and facilities. What was the response?
JF: No comment. But a spokesperson did email me a link to a five-year old National Park Service study citing myriad problems within the Buffalo National River park, for example overcrowding, insufficient river access, inadequate facilities and water quality issues.
MM: The Buffalo River was declared our nations very first national river in 1972, after efforts to impound the stream for hydroelectricity were defeated. We’ll continue to follow this story.
Update: Runway Group's coalition page appears to have been removed, but the company continues to post news regarding it's efforts to re-designate the Buffalo River park.