Insist that growth be compatible with life

When we first learned that there were plans to open two limestone mining operations in the watershed of the Kings River, I wrote an opinion piece saying that our region is in the crosshairs for exploitation of our natural resources. In quick succession, two other threats have appeared.

One is the Forest Service’s plan to “harvest timber” in the upper reaches of the Kings River watershed, an area called Robert’s Gap.

Some time ago, a dedicated Ozarks botanist spoke passionately of what he saw as an unconscionable practice taking hold on public lands. Hardwood forests are an important feature of a healthy ecosystem. They support a variety of wildlife, producing acorns and other nuts as well as browse for deer.

Aging trees provide nesting spots for woodpeckers and squirrels. The leaves of a healthy, varied forest form an umbrella that softens the impact of pounding rainstorms, and those leaves create a thick mulch that feeds the soil and slows erosion.

As hardwood forests disappear, publicly owned forests become more vital. So, when we hear the Forest Service proposing to sell hardwood timber off hundreds of acres of hillsides in the upper reaches of the Kings River watershed, then use herbicides to clear the understory and plant back mono-culture pine forest, we should all be alarmed.

Strong storms, almost monsoon-like, have had an impact on the Kings River and other area waterways. Trees lining the river are ripped away by high water and exposed banks collapse, leading to sedimentation. Rare mussels are smothered, macro-invertebrates die off, and water quality is damaged.

Deep in the wilds of the relatively pristine woodlands and small farms of the Dry Fork Creek watershed, a large turkey confined animal feeding operation, involving 184,000+ per flock and 3.5 flocks per year, has been proposed and is seeking a permit to operate on a cleared hilltop, to be built with federally guaranteed loans.

Previously the proposed land was used mainly for pasture. To introduce an intensive, industrial scale CAFO operation into this area would bring about a huge change. The narrow, twisting county roads that exist at the border between Madison and southern Carroll County are hardly suited for the big truck traffic required to service the operation and haul off birds to the processing plant.

Dry Fork Creek’s clean flowing contribution is especially desirable as the Kings River area is undergoing growth and development. Waterways are only as clean as the tributaries that feed them, so preserving the water quality of the tributaries becomes ever more important.

Right to Farm legislation was introduced a few years ago to protect farmers from being driven off their property as new neighbors moved in and raised objections to the smells and impacts of animal agriculture.

But what about the rights of the well-established organic farming operations that will likely be impacted by this unwanted intrusion?

A hilltop location means nearby neighbors will have to learn to live with the smells and particulates blown out into their area. They wonder how their wells and springs may be impacted, and how the lovely, crystal clear Dry Fork will fare. Will turkey litter be applied to the hillsides that drain into the creek? How much water will the two proposed wells draw from the water table to keep the birds watered?

As we learned with the Buffalo River, karst geology is what makes the Ozarks so uniquely beautiful but also what makes our area ecologically fragile. What if “feeding the world” costs us our quality of life?  

There is a public comment period on the FSA loan application through Dec. 23. They accept only postal mail, so consider it a Christmas card for our rivers and write to: Adam Kaufman, USDA Farm Service Agency, 419 W. Gaines Suite 2, Monticello, Arkansas 71655

Ask that the loan application be denied.

Lin Wellford