Presentations on Northwest Arkansas open space plan set this week

FAYETTEVILLE -- Regional planners will unveil a draft of their new Northwest Arkansas open space plan this week during presentations in Rogers and Fayetteville.

The sessions are scheduled Wednesday at the Rogers Public Library and Thursday at the Fayetteville Public Library. The presentation at each session will be identical and each will run from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Open space

If you can’t attend either of the workshop sessions, there are other ways to still participate. Comments on the draft plan will be accepted through October 31, 2015.

Project Website: Learn more about the project background, benefits of open space and why this plan is important. Find links to the comment form, input map, and other project resources. Visit the site throughout 2015 for project updates. www.nwaopenspace.com

Online Input Map: What are your favorite open spaces in Northwest Arkansas? Use this map to drop points describing your favorite places and see what others have listed: http://wikimapping.…

Online Comment Form: Tell regional planners what you value most in terms of open space. Direct link: www.surveymonkey.co… openspace For more information contact: Elizabeth Bowen, Project Manager, NWA Regional Planning Commission, 1311 Clayton St., Springdale, Ark., 72762; Office: 479-751-7125; Fax: 479-751-7150; [email protected]

To learn more about the project and to download the draft Plan for review and comment go to http://www.nwaopens… between September 25 and October 31.

Source: Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission

Planners estimate Benton and Washington counties will have about 750,000 residents by 2040. Planners want to make sure the open areas that are attracting people to this area are preserved.

"We have listened to you about what is important in Northwest Arkansas and now you can see where these important assets are located so we can work together to preserve them for all to enjoy," said Elizabeth Bowen, project manager at the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission, in a news release.

Information available at the sessions will be about the project and schedule, regional growth and the benefits of open space. Maps showing outdoor recreation areas, population densities, natural resources, the built environment and land uses will be available.

A final plan is projected to be complete in December. The resulting plan will be incorporated into the region's long-term master plan.

"It is the intent of the plan to focus on identifying natural open space assets, analyzing and assessing those assets and developing potential strategies for conserving those resources for the use of current and future generations," according to a Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission resolution.

The planning process has involved extensive public input. Outreach workshops were held in Bentonville and Fayetteville in January, stakeholder interviews were conducted in February and resource group meetings were held in March. Workshops were held in June at Garfield, Gentry, Prairie Grove, Siloam Springs and Springdale.

The process involved taking more than 800 comments about what is important and creating a map showing which open spaces should be preserved.

Examples of open space include the regional trail system, national forests, state and national parks, wildlife management areas, rivers and areas around Beaver Lake, University of Arkansas agricultural property, city parks, properties held in trust and land owned by private nonprofit groups.

Some recognized benefits to preserving open space in communities include creating a high quality of life that attracts tax-paying businesses and residents; stimulating commercial growth and promoting city revitalization; boosting local economies by attracting tourists and supporting outdoor recreation; floodplain protection; protecting agricultural land to safeguard the future of farming economies and communities; and, safeguarding drinking water and clean air, according to regional planners.

Open space also is important to preserving water quality in the region. Beaver Lake is the primary water source for most of the 500,000 residents in the region. Open space holds water, keeping it from rushing into the rivers and washing pollutants into Beaver Lake, according to John Pennington with the Beaver Watershed Alliance.

A $350,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation is paying the cost of the year-long study.

NW News on 09/20/2015

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