April and May events in the Illinois River watershed of Arkansas and Oklahoma

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Saturday, April 25 Earth Day at Botanical Gardens 10 am – 2 pm
Join the IRWP and Springdale’s Tree City USA committee by volunteering at our booth. It’s a great way to meet new people and greet old friends!
Monday, April 27 Osage Creek Clean up 9 am – noon
Join the IRWP and Kirksey Middle School 7th graders by helping clean up portions of Osage Creek in Rogers. Clean up crews will meet at the Church at Pinnacle Hills and Home Depot in Rogers at 9 am. Trash bags and gloves provided by Keep Arkansas Beautiful.
May StreamTeam Monitoring
Reminder that May is sampling month for the 2008-2009 IRWP Volunteer StreamTeam Monitoring Project. Please drop your samples off at the AWRC Lab as early in the month as possible and we’ll share yearlong results at our June 6 event.
Many thanks to our IRWP StreamTeam volunteers!
Saturday, May 2 Lake Fayetteville Clean up 9 am – noon
Join the Lake Fayetteville Watershed Partnership in helping clean up Lake Fayetteville. Bring canoes and kayaks, or come ready for a great “clean up walk” around the lake. Meet at the Environmental Study Center at 511 E. Lakeview. RSVP for lunch @sdale.org
Friday and Saturday, May 8-9 Northwest Arkansas Green Expo
Volunteer at the IRWP booth at the Northwest Arkansas Green Expo at the Benton County Fairgrounds. Watershed quiz games for kids & adults with prizes!
Friday 11 am – 5 pm; Saturday 9 am – 3 pm .nwagreenexpo.com
Tuesday, May 12 IRWP Board Meeting 6 pm – 9 pm
Members and guests, come to the 2nd quarter board meeting of the IRWP to be hosted at Nabholz Construction at 3301 N. 2nd Street, Rogers.
Saturday, June 6 Illinois River Watershed Appreciation Day
Come to Lake Fayetteville, 2 pm to 7 pm, for family fun with kid’s games, fishing, geocaching treasure hunt, canoe races, free barbecue and concert.
IRWP Committees
Education Committee: Tuesday, April 28, 11:30 am Washington Co. Environmental Affairs
Membership Committee: Friday, May 1, 9:00 am Lake Fayetteville Pavilion
Finance Committee: Monday, May 4, 3:00 pm 122 Turnberry, Dawn Hill, Siloam Springs
To volunteer email @irwp.org or call (479) 238-4671

Rogers projects created a lot of environmental damage in 2007. Economic slowdown has slowed process

Please click on images to ENLARGE view of inappropriate treatment of the Illinois River watershed land in Benton County, Arkansas, in October 2007.

Rogers construction has slowed but were stormwater-management efforts completed?

Please click on images to ENLARGE views of red dirt on prairie land and dirt in new streets in Rogers on October 15, 2009.

Benton County officials may have written a good plan but don't expect compliance

Please click on images of typical Benton County stormwater protection efforts along the Osage Creek in the Illinois River watershed on Oct. 15, 2007.




The Morning News

Local News for Northwest Arkansas


Stormwater violations so common in Benton County that this headline sounds like a really bad joke. The lead sentence is misleading.

Benton County Meets Stormwater Requirements

By THE MORNING NEWS
Benton County has met all state and federal stormwater requirements, said Aaron Sadler, Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality spokesman.
The agency sent County Judge Dave Bisbee a letter April 13 that shows the county's 2008 annual report has been reviewed and is compliant. The county is required to submit a stormwater plan report annually but had not done so since 2006, according to state records. Sadler said the plan submitted this year appears to be complete.
The county adopted an "enforcement mechanism" as part of its stormwater plan Jan. 30, according to county reports. Bisbee signed a court order just before the Feb. 1 state deadline.
The stormwater regulations are meant to curb sediment runoff from construction sites in the county's designated area. That area is 3 square miles of the most densely populated unincorporated areas, including Monte Ne and Prairie Creek. Federal regulations already apply to all construction sites disturbing 1 acre or more, and those that are smaller and part of a larger development, stormwater officials have said. However, the county must enforce regulations in the designated area.
The stormwater regulations mostly affect builders.

Brown thrashers among the many species to be seen on World Peace Wetland Prairie during Sunday's Earth Day celebration

Please click on image to Enlarge view of one of the many species of birds feeding and picking nesting sites on World Peace Wetland Prairie on April 17, 2009. The elusive brown thrasher is often able to slip into the thickets before a camera can capture its image. But the attraction of scattered brush piles and the excitement of mating season can make them a bit careless.

Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association's green-infrastructure project offers first major report online

Green-infrastructure report from Fayetteville Natural Heritage Association project

Earth Day celebration on April 19, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie

Please click on image to ENLARGE to read details of the poster.

Bird-watchers welcome every day from dawn to dusk!