Establishment of a large-scale industrial hog farm in the Buffalo National River watershed has focused renewed attention on the river and its surroundings — and should remind the public of what a treasure the Buffalo is.
This hog farm can hold 6,500 swine. It is along the banks of Big Creek, less than six stream miles from where it meets the Buffalo.
The farm, which will supply Cargill Inc., received permits with minimal advance publicity through a process that appears to have been flawed. This project, far larger than other hog farms in the area, would involve 17 separate hog waste application fields and reportedly generate 3.5 million gallons of manure and wastewater annually. However, one of the owners said the idea that the Buffalo might be polluted is “ludicrous, it’s just crazy.”
The Buffalo became our first national river in 1972. Why it received that status should be apparent to anyone who has experienced the Buffalo. How it happened is a rather complicated tale.
I had my first exposure to the river as a teenager, traveling from eastern Arkansas with Boy Scouts for a canoe trip. I was dazzled by the scenic beauty and the pristine quality of the river. A portion of the river was a state park with cabins constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s.
By the early 1960s, a battle for the future of the Buffalo was under way. The Corps planned to construct one or more dams on the river and create a reservoir lake. Some in the region were enthusiastic about damming the Buffalo, believing a lake would bring economic and recreational benefit.
A group of conservationists formed the Ozark Society, led by Dr. Neil Compton of Bentonville, and opposed damming.
In the 10-year battle that followed, three key components deserve much credit for saving the Buffalo.
At the core were those in the area, centering around the Ozark Society, who knew the Buffalo well and were persistently determined to see it protected.
Second were those in the media, some outside Arkansas, who took up the cause. Most Arkansas newspapers, with the notable exception of the Marshall Mountain Wave, published in Buffalo country, opposed damming. Cartoonist George Fisher lampooned the Corps and dam supporters.
National magazines featured the Buffalo and several major newspapers favored a national river. Prominent individuals such as artist Thomas Hart Benton and Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas joined the effort. After a 1962 canoe trip, Douglas called the Buffalo “a national treasure worth fighting to the death to preserve.”
In Arkansas and in Washington there were obstacles within the third vital group — elected officials. Gov. Orval Faubus remained neutral for years. He announced opposition to damming in 1965. U.S. Rep. Jim Trimble, representing the district where the Buffalo is located, remained steadfast behind damming. Others in the Arkansas congressional delegation were reluctant to oppose Trimble. But, as early as 1961 Sen. William Fulbright had favored making the Buffalo part of the National Park Service.
A turning point came in 1966 when Republican John Paul Hammerschmidt defeated Trimble, and in 1967 Fulbright and Sen. John McClellan introduced the first Buffalo National River legislation. The bill failed to advance.
In 1968, as a member of Fulbright’s staff, I spent time on the Buffalo and became more convinced than ever the legislation was needed. In 1969, David Lambert, a colleague on Fulbright’s staff, and I were assigned to work on the legislative effort. The bill got Senate approval, and by then the park service strongly supported it. A park service study said the Buffalo deserved national attention not for a single quality but “an outstanding combination of qualities.” Hammerschmidt introduced a companion bill in the House, but it was not acted upon.
Again in 1971, with a new session of Congress, Fulbright and McClellan introduced a bill, as did Hammerschmidt. All the while, Arkansas supporters kept pushing. This time it passed both Houses and in March 1972, President Nixon signed the legislation into law.
In 40-plus years as a national river it has become a major tourist destination with its spectacular scenery, water activities, hiking, camping, etc. I’ve just returned from a Buffalo visit and can testify once again to its special quality.
In view of this history, well-told in a documentary film by Larry Foley, and considering what the Buffalo area has to offer, it is appropriate and unsurprising that many of us who love the Buffalo are distressed by the presence of the hog farm nearby.
HOYT PURVIS IS A JOURNALISM AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROFESSOR.