If you think of the Buffalo National River, the image of soaring bluffs rising over free-flowing, pristine water immediately comes to mind.
That's been the case for generations in these Ozark Mountains where the river cuts through rugged wilderness and is so beloved that it was named America's first national river in 1972.
That image, if not the river itself, has been sullied in more recent years amid serious concern for the river's water quality.
The views are as striking as ever beneath those bluffs, enough to draw millions of visitors to the region. Last year, 1.4 million came and the Buffalo remains a major tourism attraction.
Yet, thick ropes of algae, enough to stop a canoe, have been visible in the river.
Presence of the algae suggests high levels of nutrients in the water. Such issues have been among the concerns of the river's advocates, who worry the area's porous karst terrain could be contaminated by nearby development, such as a controversial hog farm near Mount Judea.
Indeed, much of the concern has resulted from the permitting of that industrial hog farm on a nearby tributary to the Buffalo. The permitting prompted public outcry and legal action from those who continue the fight to protect the river.
Of course, environmentalists and outdoor enthusiasts have been stirred to action. But this controversy has reached much more deeply into the Arkansas psyche. Last week, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he has received as many letters from constituents regarding the Buffalo River as he has for any issue.
"That says something," he said.
Hutchinson made the remark as he named a committee of state agency representatives to create a watershed management plan for the Buffalo.
The intent is to prevent complaints, not just respond to them.
The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission and the state departments of Environmental Quality, Health, Parks and Tourism, and Agriculture will be involved. Collectively, they'll make up the Beautiful Buffalo River Action Committee and their goal will reportedly be to protect the watershed proactively.
They'll have no new regulatory power over development but can guide development and assist landowners in securing grants to implement protective measures.
The committee is supposed to meet quarterly and provide annual reports to the governor, the first of which will be due Jan. 31, 2018.
So the first reactions to its creation are naturally of the wait-and-see variety, especially from some of those who've been most involved in fighting the hog farm. Those are the people who still provide the most intense eyes on the operation, largely through the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance. The group formed in 2013 to fight C&H Hog Farms.
The state has since hired researchers from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture to monitor the hog farm and its surrounding area continuously. Most recently, the state funded a drilling project to detect any leakage from a waste pond. That report is due by the end of the year.
Creation of the committee is at least an acknowledgement by the governor that protection of the river and its watershed is a priority for many Arkansans.
Time will tell how much more this effort to coordinate state agencies will actually mean.
The president of the watershed alliance, Gordon Watkins of Jasper, called the committee's creation a "good step," but he also encouraged public input to the process.
Watkins specifically mentioned the need for limits on nutrient levels. He noted that poultry farmers in the Illinois River watershed must have nutrient management plans to address waste runoff.
In a subsequent statement, the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance went further in its reaction:
"For this to be viewed as more than a public relations initiative, we would expect to see actual good faith steps taken by the governor's office and (Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality) to identify and eliminate the obvious risks to the Buffalo."
The alliance wants the governor's office to add a review of permitting processes, specifically for operations in karst geology where groundwater can flow swiftly.
It mentioned making a state moratorium on medium and large commercial animal feeding operations permanent. And, of course, the organization suggested an initiative to reduce nutrients from all nearby activities from polluting the Buffalo.
Obviously, stakeholder support for the governor's initiative is, at best, cautious.
The governor and this committee of agencies have their work cut out for them -- not just to create a watershed management plan but also to persuade Arkansans that the state really will protect the Buffalo.
Commentary on 10/05/2016