No connection to it
Rex Nelson made some valid points concerning the controversy surrounding the Buffalo National River. One, the area of the state where this is all happening is poor if all you consider is the economics of the area. Two, the river does not belong just to the people of the area but to every American. Mr. Nelson makes the point that businesses have been opened by people from outside of the area and are helping local individuals obtain employment. He also defends the pure and innocent intentions of some very rich and powerful and political Arkansans who began the effort over a year ago without even talking to those whose lives will be most impacted.
My family and my wife’s family are generational in the area. Those who still live there have their lives invested in it. They have a heritage in the area. In recent decades they have experienced an onslaught of change that promises to destroy this heritage. The recent proposal may be the nail in the coffin.
Mr. Nelson is correct; land will not be taken through eminent domain. But as land values increase even more than before with increased commercialization of the area, two things will result. Young people born and raised there are already and will increasingly be unable to afford land on which to build and live. Rental costs will continue to increase. Second, as property values escalate, so will property taxes. Those families will experience more and more difficulty to pay those taxes and may eventually have no alternative but to sell their land and relocate. This is commonly referred to as gentrification. Mr. Nelson doesn’t appear to address these problems. He only speaks to the employment opportunities that would be available, which is a plus.
Perhaps the Runway Group, our governor (who I voted for) and her husband and Mr. Nelson could offer solutions to mitigate these problems. Otherwise, I fear that the local residents will be left sacrificing the most to experience the “economic growth” that promoters are promising. Perhaps the way to benefit the river itself is not to increase the crowds that clog up every rapid on it but to find a mechanism to reduce them. You are right, Mr. Nelson; the locals do not own the river. It is rapidly being bought by people having no connection to it. DANIEL CUMMINGS
Russellville