Green infrastructure still being destroyed: Boozeman, Lincoln and Pryor all promised in 2009 to cooperate to get federal money appropriated to buy sale-barn property; instead, their failure to act has resulted in wet-prairie land north and west of the National Cemetery being dredged and filled for burial sites

Fayetteville National Cemetery photo set. Scroll to bottom of set for more of today's photos This didn't have to happen. Could it be related to the fact that none of the three is a U.S. military veteran? Or did they have more important people's votes in mind? The percentage of veterans who vote is pretty high. The right to vote has always been a reason for many to agree to fight to protect our Democratic form of government. Please click on image to ENLARGE view of land dredging at Fayetteville National Cemetery on April 23, 2010.

Earth Day Festival began Friday night with Caring for Creation at Mount Sequoyah; Earth Day at World Peace Wetland Prairie from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, April 18, 2010, offers eduction and fun for all ages

Please click on image to ENLARGE for closer view of sample photos from WPWP.

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type. For more about World Peace Wetland Prairie please see www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/ www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02/collections/   

PLEASE double-click the image to ENLARGE view and ENLARGE further with your computer's tools to read small type.

MANY REASONS TO PROTECT LAND SUCH AS WORLD PEACE WETLAND AND PINNACLE PRAIRIE FOREVER:

World Peace Wetland Prairie is the riparian zone of a small stream that historically was fed by seep springs and rainwater from three directions when the first westward immigrants settled Fayetteville, Arkansas. World Peace Wetland Prairie has the deepest layer of dark, rich soil in its subwatershed because leaves and other vegetative matter accumulated as the flowing water slowed and soaked into the absorbent soil and enriched that soil. Pinnacle Foods Inc.'s mounded wet prairie to the west is the main source of clean water flowing to World Peace Wetland Prairie at this time. Before the railroad was built, water flowed off Rochier Hill to the northwest and from the prairie and savannah to the north of WPWP that has been replaced by fill dirt and paving for apartments. Water from the east and north slopes of the high land where Pinnacle Foods Inc. now sits flowed to WPWP along with all the water from the high ground near 15th Street, which moved north to WPWP before flowing east to the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River. Such remnants of prairie help keep the water where it falls and recharge the groundwater. Like the many similar remnants of such prairie in our diverse geographical area, WPWP and Pinnacle Prairie are the surface manifestation of a significant bedrock fault. Such sunken wetland is a characteristic feature that appears above geological faults worldwide. The Karst map of Washington County Arkansas shows the WPWP watershed in red, meaning that it is a critical groundwater recharge area. Preserving such depressional wetland in our city is the least expensive way to reduce downstream flooding and siltation of our water supply. Hundreds of native plants grow. Many birds and other wildlife prosper on healthy wetland vegetation. And prairie vegetation sequesters carbon dioxide and cleans the ground water.

KEEP the WATER where it FALLS!

John Bame and Fayetteville High School students look at old rail trestle and discarded rail ties blocking construction of city trail through old tunnel under existing Arkansas & Missouri Railroad

I might not have discovered this for some time had not John Bame brought some FHS students to World Peace Wetland Prairie and then taken them on a walk of the Pinnacle Prairie Trail and the part of Tsa-La-Gi Trail as yet uncompleted from the Hill Place Apartments through the old rail tunnel to the west to Razorback Road and beyond. Thanks to the environmentally aware students for caring and wanting to learn more about the delicate geography and geology of our city.
Please click on image to enlarge view of railroad ties over mouth of tunnel and then watch video below the photo to learn reaction of workers when they learned that the ties should not be dumped there.

Rail ties being dumped in mouth of tunnel in Fayetteville AR

Aubrey james | MySpace Video

The Fayetteville city trail administrator telephoned the railroad manager in Springdale an hour later and the railroad official confirmed that the ties were not to be dumped there but were to be dumped at Cato Springs Road. Rail ties are creosoted and very dangerous to human beings and other living things when the chemicals leach into the watershed.

Arkansas Highway Department plan to stop flow of sediment to Mulberry River from Pig Trail repair site will cost $1.6 million

Please click on byline of Adam Wallworth to go to newspaper online and view full story and previous stories on the pollution of Mountain Creek and the Mulberry River.
See video by Tom Shuessler below.  Click on video to find high-definition view on You Tube. Also, watch CAT 18 on Cox Cable at 11 a.m.,  5 p.m. and 11 p.m. today for Schuessler's short slide show and description of what has been happening in recent weeks at the highway construction site on the Pig Trail (Arkansas 23). Programs on CAT also may be viewed simulcast online at www.catfayetteville.org
at 11 a.m.,  5 p.m. and 11 p.m. today. Click on WATCH ONLINE near right top corner of page.

Highway agency works to stem sediment flow into stream

By Adam Wallworth

Friday, March 26, 2010

LITTLE ROCK — State highway officials have begun work on a $1.6 million plan to stop the flow of sediment from an Arkansas 23 construction project into a Mulberry River tributary as state and federal environmental regulators consider penalties for the pollution.

“Even if they were to completely be able to remediate the site right now, that still doesn’t necessarily resolve any possible penalty,” said Ryan Benefield, deputy director of the Arkansas Departmentof Environmental Quality.

Benefield said the department will continue its enforcement action against the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department while it reviews a mitigation plan that the agency submitted Wednesday.

The plan comes in response to reports by environmental inspector Jeff Tyler, who detailed runoff problems that caused sediment to flow into a tributary of Mountain Creek half a mile downhill from the Arkansas 23 construction site.

Tyler began monitoring the site after a resident about 5 miles downstream complained about sediment in Mountain Creek, which feeds the Mulberry River.

Heavy rains caused the collapse of a 1, 200-foot section of Arkansas 23, a 19-mile stretch also known as the Pig Trail Scenic Byway, in March 2008. A second collapse prompted the state to close the road in December after repair work had begun.

The Highway Department approved a $1.6 million change order to address runoff problems Wednesday.

Most of the mitigation cost - $1.3 million - stems from removing dirt and rocks from the roadbed and alongside Arkansas 23 where contractor Kesser International is rebuilding the road, said Randy Ort, Highway Department spokesman.

That waste material had been leveled, seeded and mulched, but then heavy rain caused it to start sliding, according to officials.

Kesser International has already started building a gravel road to accommodate the heavy equipment needed to remove the material, Ort said.

The flow of underground water that caused the road to collapse in the first place is causing the sediment-runoff problem, Ort said.

Repairs are intended to stabilize the hillside, but there is no guarantee there won’t be another slide.

“It’s going to happen again, maybe not here, but up there again,” Ort said. “We’ve had slides all over north Arkansas, but most don’t impair roadways.”

The mitigation plan also calls for digging a trench along the base of the roadway to direct rainwater into two natural channels, Ort said. The channels will be lined with rock, he said.

The hillside will be seeded and mulched, but until that vegetation takes hold, wattles will be used to control surface runoff. Wattles are similar to sandbags and are used to stop sediment while still allowing water to flow through.

Benefield said he expects his staff to submit a draft consent administrative order next week to outline steps the Highway Department and Kesser International need to take to fix the problem.

At a minimum, the order will require the Highway Department to implement its plan as submitted, Benefield said. The order could include additional remediation steps and a fine.

Biologists have said sediment 2- to 10-inches deep has choked out aquatic life in the tributary and in Mountain Creek, although the pollution dissipates quickly in the Mulberry River.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is also pursuing enforcement action against the Highway Department and was expected to send a notice late Thursday or today, said Kyle Clark, chief of its enforcement branch and regulatory division.

Clark said the Highway Department will have 14 days to respond, but the Corps will likely accept any plan approved by the state environmental department.

State Sen. Ruth Whitaker, R-Cedarville, said she is waiting to hear back from Teresa Marks, director of the Department of Environmental Quality, and will continue to monitor the project. Whitaker questioned Highway Department officials about the runoff problem during the Legislature’s recent fiscal session.

Benefield said the consent administrative order will provide a legal framework to ensure that the Highway Department follows through with its plan and takes any needed future action. He said he expects the department to continue to cooperate.

Benefield couldn’t say whether the Highway Department has been subject to a consent administrative order before.

“I think it is fair to say it is uncommon, given the amount of work performed by the Highway Department,” he said.

Highway officials don’t plan to remove a portion of the spoil material that broke loose and slid into the tributary of Mountain Creek. Biologists have said removing that material could do more harm than good.

Arkansas, Pages 11 on 03/26/2010

Ask Congress to restore Clean Water Act now

Please double-click "view as webpage" link near top right to see full post.

March 22, 2010  View as Webpage | Forward | Subscribe   Dear Aubrey, If you think the Clean Water Act protects your drinking water from pollution, think again. Please take action today to ensure fundamental safeguards for clean water in our streams, rivers, and lakes. A confusing 2006 Supreme Court decision on the Clean Water Act has left the fate of 60 percent of the nation’s stream miles -– that provide drinking water for 117 million Americans –- in legal limbo. As a result, as reported in The New York Times, polluters are now claiming complete exemptions from reporting what they dump into local streams. Congress can resolve this problem by passing legislation to restore full federal protection for all our waters. Help us ensure that all of our nation’s waters are protected under the Clean Water Act. Urge your representative to support introducing and passing the Clean Water Restoration Act today. Thank you for your support. Sincerely, Katherine Baer Senior Director, Clean Water Program

To contact American Rivers, email us at outreach@AmericanRivers.org. To update your profile or change your preferences click here. To unsubscribe click here.  American Rivers ©2010

I would like to express grave concern over the loss of protection for many of our small streams that provide clean drinking water for 117 million Americans in communities across the country. Supreme Court decisions in the Rapanos and Carabell cases have made it confusing and burdensome for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to protect small streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act.

As a result, enforcement actions against polluters have declined sharply the EPA estimates that over 1,000 cases have been shelved or dropped altogether. More recently it has become clear that some polluters are using the decisions as a justification to avoid any permitting and reporting requirements for discharging pollutants into our waters.

For the Clean Water Act to fulfill its goal of restoring the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation's waters, all waters must receive protection corresponding with Congress' original intent when passing this landmark law. Upstream waters must be protected from pollution and destruction if we expect downstream waters to be fit for swimming, drinking, and fish and wildlife, and downstream communities to be safe from flooding.

I urge you to act in the interest of preserving clean water for healthy communities and wildlife. Please support introduction and passage of the Clean Water Restoration Act, which would clarify the definition of waters to eliminate uncertainty and ensure clean water in accordance with the goals of the Clean Water Act.

Thank you for your consideration.

World Peace Wetland Prairie spider milkweed, false indigo bush, dogbane, blue-eyed grass and cottontail rabbit photographed on May 21, 2009

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of a sample of what you won't see on Earthday at World Peace Wetland Prairie but may see again if you visit in May. Native wildflowers and tall grass emerge later than the typical nonnative species found in many gardens in Arkansas.

Photo above reveals view northwest with Amorpha fructicosa bush in bloom. Also known as false indigo or indigo bush on May 21, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.



Cottontail rabbit reluctant to leave his grazing area and hoping photographer will back away on May 21, 2009, at World Peace Wetland Prairie.

In photo above, the tiny blue-eyed grass is seen growing near a tall dogbane or Indian Hemp plant.

Above, Asclepias viridis, also known as spider milkweed or antelope horns, is nearing full bloom. Viridis is the earliest of the milkweeds to bloom in Northwest Arkansas.


Above is an instance of a tall dogbane or Indian hemp plant with a shorter spider milkweed at right.
Dogbane seems always to pop out of the ground before the milkweed and the leaves of the two are similar. Both are plentiful at World Peace Wetland Prairie.
For more photos of wildflowers at WPWP, please see
WPWP wildflowers

Tom Schuessler's video of desecration of Mountain Creek, a tributary of the Mulberry River, off Arkansas 23

Typical Illinois River tributary southwest of Fayetteville, Arkansas, has siltation caused by Highway Department's dredging of roadside ditches

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of stream that enters the Illinois River. This one is near a highway and shows signs of dumping of assorted material in the creek. Worse, however, is that Arkansas Highway and Transportation workers mow and then dredge out ditches from which water from the highway carries silt into the stream. That reduces the success of many native species that inhabit the stream. It is easy to haul out the junk and debris. But silt is difficult to remove. Neither should be in the stream. Thoughtless people dump the junk into creeks. Well-paid workers dredge the ditches and cause the erosion at taxpayer expense!

Photo montage of World Peace Wetland Prairie in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Please click on image to ENLARGE and navigate up and down, right and left, to see whole montage.

Montage by Lauren D. Hawkins with photos by Aubrey James Shepherd

OMNI Center for Peace, Justice and Ecology invites all to open house from 3 to 6 p.m. today

View Larger Map



OMNI Center for Peace Justice and Ecology opens new house to all TODAY!
Office Phone: (479)935-4422
omni.center.for.pje@gmail.com
“OMNI Center for Peace, Justice & Ecology
educates and empowers people to actively
build a non-violent, sustainable and just world.”
Saturday,
February 2010
3:00—6:00 PM
3274 N. Lee Ave
OMNI CENTER for PEACE, JUSTICE & ECOLOGY
You are invited to celebrate the dedication of
OMNI Center’s new building! Enjoy music, re-
freshments, good fellowship, speakers, and
tours! Learn more than 35 ways to be involved
in OMNI. Help build a culture of peace in an
earth restored, that includes everyone.
Children
Welcome!
Handicap
Access
Refreshments
Will Be
Served!
Open House!

January 31, 2010, birds of World Peace Wetland Prairie searching for bare ground and free seed

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of assorted birds. Many more species are around today, such as red-winged blackbirds, bluejays, cardinals and many others whose names and photos are more difficult to collect.

Natural Resources Conservation Service removed some pretty healthy riparian vegetation from Scull Creek but left some bad spots with targeted debris blocking stream flow

Please click on images to ENLARGE.

The Scull Creek trail bridge at Ash Street and Chestnut Avenue has had this same debris hung up on it for maybe three months or more since the worst flood of the fall of 2009 sent water flowing over the bridge, but the NCRS contractors ignored it and spent a lot of their time paid for by federal money cutting live trees from the riparian zone and overflow areas of Scull Creek and other streams in Fayetteville, such as the Town Branch.

The good news is that the native wildflowers along the same stretch of trail in the Scull Creek riparian zone were mostly left standing. That means more seed to sprout in spring and more seed for the wild birds to eat. The square stems with now-wrinkled huge leaves still forming water-holding structures along them are cup flowers. a species that grew 10 feet tall and more at World Peace Wetland Prairie and many other prairie areas in Northwest Arkansas in 2009.

By morning, tall grass and tall wildflower seed and other sources such as this native smartweed near Scull Creek and native buckbrush and nonnative China honeysuckle and nonnative privet berries will be among the few places for migrating birds to feed if the snowfall is as predicted.

Wouldn't the birds love it if the trash were picked up from the ditches running from the streets and the apartment dwellers would actually help?

Remember that birdfeeders are important for wintering birds but that every stick of vegetation and every square foot of natural soil left in place are more important for birds and other wildlife.

Democrat/Gazette December 21, 2009, editorial advocating saving sale-barn land for Fayetteville National Cemetery pleases majority of veterans and neighbors, but the problem is that saving Town Branch homeowners from flooding downhill from the cemetery is still being ignored: VA already at work preparing to dredge and fill wetland and pipe stormwater directly to Hill Avenue and thus to the 11th Street bridge on the Town Branch

Please click on individual photos to ENLARGE view of wetland area along the north edge of the Fayetteville National Cemetery being prepared for dredging and filling for grave sites. The depressional wetland developed over centuries because it is above a bedrock karst area where groundwater sinks into the underground caverns and aquifers and reduces surface-water flooding. When it is piped to the Town Branch it will further aggravate the flooding danger between Ellis and Van Buren avenues already created by the University of Arkansas' failure properly to manage stormwater on the campus and by paving and development along Martin Luther King Boulevard and on the Aspen Ridge/Hill Place project.

Save acres for vets

Now buy the land for the cemetery

Monday, December 21, 2009

Print item

LITTLE ROCK — LIKE WARM Arkansas Christmases, dry eyes after It’s a Wonderful Life, and little boys from the Natural State scribbling “LSU gear” on their annual wish lists, some things are just not meant to be. That’s the way it seems with the controversial student apartments that apparently won’t be built in south Fayetteville. You know, where Washington County’s historic livestock auction house operated until June.
A lawsuit that sought to override the city’s denial of a rezoning request seems to be kaput. Campus Crest developers of North Carolina wanted to buy the property from the auction house’s owner, Bill Joe Bartholomew, and build 500 apartments on the property. But the drawn-out legal ordeal surrounding this purchase became just too much to bear. Mr. Bartholomew now wants his suit dismissed.
The proposed sale to Campus Crest became a flashpoint for veterans and others last summer. They wanted to secure the site across Government Avenue from the city’s National Cemetery so they might preserve the sacred nature of that location. They basically argued that more student apartments in an overbuilt Fayetteville wasn’t an appropriate use of the land. They had a point. The former auction barn parcel does provide an ideally located space to enlarge this rapidly filling cemetery.
Fayetteville’s council denied Mr. Bartholomew’s request to rezone his property. The rezoning would have sealed the sale and enabled Campus Crest to purchase and develop the property. That’s when Mr. Bartholomew filed his suit against the city.

This latest development means the corporation that oversees the cemetery’s operation, Congress, the national office of Veteran’s Affairs, and veterans’ organizations need to find a way to purchase this property. The space needs to be preserved and protected as a final resting place for our veterans in the decades to come.