Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Arkansas Streams Hope To Be Protected By 'Stream Team'

by Joe Mosby

Arkansas Game & Fish Commission

Streams: They are a major Arkansas assets. Combined, the Natural State's creeks, rivers, bayous and springs are the envy of 49 other states.

Yet, Arkansas streams have problems. Some have been altered forever with the construction of dams. Dozens of Arkansas residents think these streams can be protected and even improved.

They are joining in a new movement called the Arkansas Stream Team.

There are no dues. Only requirement is an interest in the flowing waters of Arkansas and their conservation and wise use.

The Stream Team will meet Friday, Saturday and Sunday, April 11-13, at DeGray Lake Resort State Park for the first Arkansas Streams and Rivers Conference.

The conference will feature classes and workshops for both adults and children on how streams work, what problems they have and what individuals can do, in teams, to help.

The workshop titles are Education (water quality monitoring, `sewer stenciling' and `mud bugs' or nonpoint runoff): Advocacy (land use and watershed conditions, cause and effect) and Stream Stewardship (litter pickup, stream stabilization and fish habitat management).

For youngesters five and up, activities include a Fun with Project WILD program and a fishing derby. Governor Mike Huckabee is tentatively scheduled to address the conference. Sunday's program will be centered around recruiting, organizing and managing a stream team and initial stream survey work.

Fee for the workshop is $25 for individuals or $40 for families if paid by April 11. It's $10 more after that date. For registration forms, phone 223-6371.

Steve Filipek of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission's Fisheries Division is the Steam Team coordinator.

"Arkansas has over 90,000 miles of steams, rivers, springs and bayous that flow through the state," Filipek said. "They provide millions of recreational hours, millions of gallons of drinking water and millions of dollars of income to our state's citizens.

"The intergrity of many Arkansas streams has been compromised to the point where we have lost thousands of miles of free-flowing and natural streams due to damming, in-stream acceptable to most Arkansans, and the flowing water resources of our state are in dire need of volunteers ready to work and stand up for the Natural State's streams," he continued.

Stream Team sponsors are Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers Commission, Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology, Arkansas Division of Volunteerism, Arkansas Soil and Water Commission, Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission, U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, U.S. Forest Service and the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service.