The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission (ANRC), in cooperation with the Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee (BBRAC), has scheduled its second public information meeting regarding the development of the voluntary watershed-based management plan for the Buffalo River Watershed. The meeting will be March 30, from 1 p.m. to 3:30 in Jasper at the Carroll Electric Community Room. It is on the north end of Jasper, just off Highway 7, near Subway. The meeting is free and everyone is welcomed to attend.

This is the second of four meetings that will be held during the next 12 months to gather public input and to explain the process that will be followed in the development of the non-regulatory watershed-based management plan for the Buffalo River and its tributaries. The first meeting, which had an attendance of approximately 130, was held in Marshall in December. A summary of the December Marshall meeting is available at the www.Arkansaswater.org site by accessing the link to the meeting summary.

The purposes of the Jasper meeting include the following:

1. Reiterate the issues raised during the first stakeholder meeting;
2. Present the current status and trends in water quality within the Buffalo River watershed;
3. Elicit information from stakeholders on potential management practices, measures and actions to address the water quality issues raised in the first meeting; and
4. Describe the next steps in the planning process.

At the direction of Governor Asa Hutchinson, the BBRAC was organized to establish an Arkansas led approach to identify and address potential issues of concern in the Buffalo River watershed through the development of a non-regulatory watershed based management plan. The process should be completed by June of 2018. The result of the plan will provide a framework for landowners, communities, and organizations to voluntarily undertake water quality projects in the watershed and improve the ability to solicit and secure funding and assistance from various government and private sources.

For more information, contact:
ANRC, (501) 682‑3914; Tony Ramick, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or FTN Associates, (501) 225‑7779; Terry Horton, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

View the summary of items presented at the meeting (PDF)