Environment notebook

Bill would transfer funds to state roads

The Arkansas Senate has approved a bill that would send $300,000 of state recycling funds to the state’s unpaved roads program instead.

The Senate last week approved Senate Bill 377, sponsored by Sen. Missy Irvin, R-Mountain View. Of the 35 senators, 19 approved the bill, six opposed it, seven did not vote and three voted present.

The diversion would start in the next fiscal year.

The Arkansas Marketing Recyclables Program Fund typically collects $4 million to $5 million per year and distributes the money to the state’s 18 regional solid waste management districts. Those districts use the funds for local recycling projects.

River’s watershed on meeting agenda

State conservation leaders have scheduled the final meeting on planning for watershed protection around the Middle White River.

The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and contractor FTN Associates will hold the meeting from 1 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission North Central Regional office in Calico Rock.

The groups have hosted three meetings previously.

The meetings are used to provide input on the Middle White River’s watershed management plan, which FTN and the Natural Resources Commission hope to complete by September.

Agencies seek input on culling elk herd

Government agencies are asking for public input on their plan to reduce and manage the elk population density in the Buffalo National River region, according to a news release from the National Park Service.

The Park Service and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission have held two public meetings seeking input, but people can comment on the Elk Management Plan until April 1 and can review relevant information at https:// parkplanning.nps.gov/.

Astronomy group to host panel in LR

A panel of experts will host an astronomy event Tuesday in Little Rock, according to a news release from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Three panelists will discuss astronomy and citizen science at Hibernia Tavern from 7 to 9 p.m. as a part of the monthly Science Cafe Little Rock event.

The panelists are Jeff Robertson, an Arkansas Tech University professor and director of the Arkansas Tech Astronomical Observatory; Shani Atwood, coordinator of the Central Arkansas Library System’s Library Telescope Program; and Edward Neth, an amateur astronomer from Conway.