Until this weekend, I’d never been to Whittaker’s Point (Hawk’s Bill Crag). I just don’t like hiking busy trails. It’s the lonely trails that I like most. It’s the isolation and quiet that I really enjoy. It’s the trails and areas that seem to be impacted the least by people.
The kids wanted to hit a few trails this weekend. One of them was one of the most hiked in Arkansas. I’m not a fan of being bunched up between people on a trail or watching someone teeter on the rock stairs in front of me. Or, watching folks knowingly access a closed trail or cave. Ya know, it’s just not an enjoyable start to the outdoors jockeying for position to park along a narrow dirt road, only to find you’ve been boxed in by vehicles owned by folks you’ll probably never see for hours.
But being able to access these areas is better than NOT being able to enjoy these places.
Quite a few memorable moments in my life have taken place on public lands. Hunting, fishing, hiking and camping. All those things and more. It would be a shame to lose those lands or have them forever changed.
I live in an area being impacted by massive population growth. Losing watershed protection is impacting access to public water and water quality. It’s also impacting riparian buffers and aquatic habitat and eco-zones.
And that stinks for folks who enjoy related outdoor activities.
Why do I post about these things? A love of outdoors. And a grieving of those losses.
I really would like folks to watch Patagonia’s “Public Trust”. Not only is Robert Redford’s name on it but it’s FREE on YouTube. It’s a documentary about fighting to KEEP those lands public.
It covers not only those things in the past that have had a negative impact on Public Lands but also present-day issues from current bureaucracy. I’ve being seeing a lot of negative impacts to our Public Lands: I’ve been numb to it. I’ve read and watched bureaucrats and administrations tearing away at Public Land protections and been frustrated but numb because it hurts and I don’t know how to be very pro-active against those actions.
A few years ago, a bureaucratic failure caused a large scale hog farm to be approved to be built within the sensitive watershed of the Buffalo River - America’s first National River. From the point I heard of the approval, I wrote legislators and signed petitions. Valid petitions through the Ozark Society which have been penned by my own hand. Not those silly things from social media. I even attended meetings in which I got to speak with passionate people such as myself.
That hog farm is now being permanently dismantled because of the voices of the public. Protections are being put in place to prevent another issue such as that hog farm from entering the Buffalo River Watershed.
I also have been a part of the possible removal of a local dam on a Smallmouth stream and am currently trying to request peramaters to be placed to protect species from over-harvest and to somehow protect the spawn. I have actually spoken with members of city council, city consultants and city planning about watershed education for that stream. It’s a long story but once this dam is removed (Chance it may be replaced) that it will turn into nothing but a giant flotilla of canoes, kayaks and tubers like the rest of the watershed. Folks are chomping at the bit for legal access and even pushing for a “blueway” stream (like a greenway for cyclists.
Crossing my fingers. Will be attending public hearings as things move forward.
If you enjoy the outdoors, please be proactive. Even if it’s just picking up litter.
Please watch the film.
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