Eagle Watch celebrates 20th anniversary

Award presented to Terry Stanfill for his contributions to the nature area

GENTRY — An anniversary celebration was held Saturday at an Eagle Watch pavilion along the trail just west of Gentry. The celebration marked 20 years for the popular nature trail and birdwatching site on property owned by SWEPCO as a part of its Flint Creek Power Plant.

Numerous area residents, wildlife photographers and AEPSWEPCO representatives were on hand for the event which included a program, pizza and drinks and time to enjoy the trail and viewing platforms.

The 65-acre nature trail and set-aside nature area opened in 1999 and was, in part, the result of the suggestions and work of Terry Stanfill, then a chemist at the power plant as well as a wildlife photographer who took many photos of wildlife on the power plant’s property around SWEPCO Lake.

Stanfill is retired now but still serves as a manager of the nature area he helped to create. And he spends even more time now photographing area wildlife.

And what began as a trail which led to a single viewing pavilion along the lake has grown to include two more pavilion observation areas along the lake and is a very popular spot for area bird watchers and wildlife photographers.

Stanfill received an award for his service at the celebration on Saturday, but he was quick to point out that the nature area would not exist but for the contributions of SWEPCO and its employees, the volunteer work of community members and 4-H clubs and the support of the many who use the area regularly.

Over the years the nature area has received numerous awards, including the designation as an important bird area by the Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society and being certified by the Wildlife Habitat Council and the Corporate Lands for Learning program — programs now combined and called Conservation Certification.

The powerplant has been awarded for implementing specific land management practices to promote pollinator

populations and for providing and retaining “wildlife habitat on its lands by planting native warm-season grasses, forbs, legumes, wildflowers and shrubs and encouraging neighborhood involvement in habitat improvement” (Eagle Watch website).

The Bloomfield Community 4-H Club has also been honored as a Community Partner of the Year for its partnership role at Flint Creek’s Eagle Watch Nature Trail with its handson environmental awareness and improvement activities.

“Other awards and certifications have come from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Environmental Federation and the Arkansas Wildlife Federation,” according to the Eagle Watch website.

The nature area is wellknown as one of the best places in the region to view wintering bald eagles, but many, many other shore, woodland and prairie birds are also regulars, in addition to the many other animals and insects (including many species of butterflies) which frequent the area.

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL Terry and Cris Stanfill stand at the entrance to a viewing platform along SWEPCO Lake at the Eagle Watch Nature Area on Saturday. Terry Stanfill is holding an award he received for his work to create the nature trail and for his years of service as a manager and promoter of the wildlife area on land owned by the Flint Creek Power Plant. The Stanfills were commended for their contributions to the Eagle Watch Trail at a 20th anniversary celebration Saturday for the nature area.

Westside Eagle Observer/RANDY MOLL After receiving an award for his contributions toward the founding and preservation of SWEPCO’s Eagle Watch Trail, Terry Stanfill speaks to those in attendance at the 20th anniversary celebration of the Trail, saying he had much help from SWEPCO, the community, 4-H clubs and others in making the nature area what it is today.