Erosion, feral hogs pose concern on river

Governor’s panel goal: Tend Buffalo

Erosion along the banks of the Buffalo National River and problems associated with feral hogs were among the primary concerns voiced this week during the first meeting of the governor-commissioned Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee.

Members expressed interest Tuesday in protecting the water quality of the river and addressing concerns about erosion along its banks, which leads to sediment in the river.

“Literally islands are developing in streams,” said Kevin Cheri, National Park Service superintendent for the Buffalo River. “So we need to do more research to try and understand the cost of this.”

Committee members who represent other state agencies voiced those agencies’ roles and concern for the river and its watershed, noting the river’s draw as a tourist destination and its surrounding small towns and farms.

Nathan Smith, director of the Arkansas Department of Health, said his agency recently started keeping water quality data on the Buffalo relevant to health issues that can arise in recreational waters.

Arkansas Natural Resources Commission Director Bruce Holland said other

states, such as neighboring Oklahoma, don’t have the water resources Arkansas does. He said the commission’s duty is to protect and preserve that “abundance of water,” and he and others noted that damage caused by feral hogs has become a significant problem.

Wes Ward, director of the Arkansas Agriculture Department, said agriculture is the state’s largest industry and is particularly significant to rural areas, such as those that surround the Buffalo River. But, he said, farmers keep telling him they “don’t need additional regulations to make their jobs even harder.”

The committee is nonregulatory, and one of its major actions is developing a watershed management plan that is also nonregulatory. The Natural Resources Commission is overseeing the planning process and held a public meeting in Marshall on Dec. 8.

Tony Ramick, who oversees nonpoint source management for the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission, said the next meeting would be March 30 at Carroll Electric in Jasper. Ramick said he expects it will take at least one year to draw up the plan, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is funding the plan, must accept it.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson commissioned the committee in September in response to concerns that arose after a federally classified large hog farm opened in 2013 in Mount Judea, which is located within the Buffalo River’s watershed.

Outcry about C&H Hog Farms’ potential to pollute the river over time has spurred a five-year study on the farm’s impact on the river, a five-year ban on medium and large hog farms in the watershed, and another study conducted in September to determine if a hog manure pond was leaking.

While the Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee won’t be regulatory, a watershed management plan would help guide development in the watershed and help the state leverage funding for conservation projects.

The committee approved a charter Tuesday that affirms its goals and membership and heard presentations from the Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the National AREA Park DETAILED Service on work being done on the Buffalo River.

The charter establishes a schedule of quarterly meetings on the third Tuesday of the month, an annual report to Hutchinson starting in January 2018, a website for committee Bryant information, and a five-member executive team with two additional ex-officio members. Members include the directors of the departments of Environmental Quality, Health, Parks and Tourism, and Agriculture, as well as the Natural Resources Commission. The directors of the Game and Fish Commission and the Geographic Information Office are ex-officio members.

Shawn Hodges, a park ranger with the National Park Service at the Buffalo National River, gave a presentation detailing the 32 sites where the park service does sampling on the river and described the park service’s desire to do other projects on the river. The park service would like to do more dye tracing to examine how water flows in the watershed underneath karst terrain, as well as more science education for Arkansas residents and partnerships with colleges and state agencies.

Cheri said his office tries to reach out to people about being better stewards of the river and said most people learn and want to protect the river.

“Most of the times, the things people do, they’re just not aware that they have the potential to affect the river,” Cheri said, noting the 100 or so spare tires the park service finds in the river every year during its cleanups.

“Don’t we care enough to do something about that without imposing on the way people live?” he asked.