Hunt nature center to focus on Ozark ecology

The entry hallway of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The entry hallway of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

SPRINGDALE -- The J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center in Springdale will highlight the ecology and landscape of the Ozarks when it opens Dec. 11.

Schelly Corby, the director of the center, said members of the Game and Fish Commission hope to share the ecology of the Ozarks with 100,000 people each year.

"But that's not covid numbers," she said.

Corby stepped off the bank and into an interactive creek that runs through the main building of the Hunt nature center. The white froth of water rippled around her feet in the virtual display.

Cameras hang from the ceiling and react to visitors' actions, Colby pointed out.

"It's funny to watch the adults because they'll just kind of stick their toe out there, wondering if they can really step on it," she said.

The natural meets the technical in the 2,700-square-foot exhibit hall. The center's technology allows visitors to virtually experience hunting, fishing and wading in that Ozark creek.

Would-be hunters will use laser guns to hunt wild boar, turkey, quail or deer -- "Whatever it is you like to hunt," Corby said.

A fishing pole hanging over a fence lets visitors try their luck at the proverbial fishing hole. Grabbing the rod and reel will give the visitor the feel of catching a fish and setting the hook.

"Or how it feels if the fish gets off and swims away," Corby said.

One exhibit recreates a nest of quail, which thrived here when prairie was plentiful. Quail figures are available to pick up and examine. Corby explained the quail were 3D printed.

"So you have this really accurate, sturdy thing that you can touch," she said. "It's better than taxidermy that wouldn't last very long with people always touching it."

"Can you imagine living your entire life without ever seeing the sun?" asks a sign in a recreated karst limestone cave. The cave tells the story of the endangered blind cave fish, found only in Northwest Arkansas. The soundtrack includes the sound of dripping water, which would form stalactites and stalagmites.

A sculpture stretches across the ceiling of the exhibit hall depicting the four seasons. The activities sit below the appropriate seasons, the hunting simulation in the fall, the fishing in the summer.

The prairie-style construction with native stone accents seems to ramble across the site -- in a good way. The land for the center was donated by the city of Springdale.

"When I've got something to think about, something I need to figure out, I come out here and walk through the ravines and things," Corby said Thursday. "I usually get it figured out."

The center's classroom can seat about 200 people. A prep kitchen sits right off the classroom for those events with catered meals. Just beyond the classrooms' projector screens, floor-to-ceiling windows showcase the woodlands of the area, brightly colored for fall.

Administration offices fill out the hall.

Across a breezeway, a 15-foot-tall black bear, ready for a photo op, greets guests outside of the Marksmanship Hall. It was funded by a father who wanted to leave a tribute for a child who had died, Corby said.

The indoor range features 10 shooting lanes for airguns or archery, Corby said. A Kevlar curtain and a concrete wall covered with carpet will ensure safety, she said. The center will provide instruction and equipment.

Outside, more shooting lanes let hunters of all abilities shoot at 3D targets of Ozarks game.

Behind the main buildings, volunteers work to restore most of the center's 63 acres as a prairie habitat for quail. The work actually started in 2011 and is progressing according to five- and 10-year plans, Corby said. It will take several years of growing for the prairie grasses to provide enough habitat for quail to move in.

"But quail sometimes have their own ideas and might not settle here," she cautioned.

A trail hugging Spring Creek along the northern boundary of the center will connect with the city's Thunderchicken Mountain Biking Trails and the Razorback Greenway.

There will be a place for riders to park their bikes and explore the center, Corby said.

Officials expect construction of the trails to begin after the first of the year and the trails to be completed by summer, said Brad Baldwin, Springdale director of engineering and public works.

CONSERVE AND ENHANCE

The mission statement of the Game & Fish Commission says the organization's role is to conserve and enhance Arkansas' fish and wildlife and their habitats.

Each of the commission's nine education centers work to conserve their parts of the Natural State and instill respect for the unique habitats.

Steve Dunlap, the director of education for the center, said he can provide lessons to fit any of the state standards for biological science -- mammal habitats, ecology, fish identification and habitat.

Dunlap joins educators from five or six other organizations in the region with similar opportunities and goals. Some of those organizations focus on one of the diverse habitats found in the Ozarks. The Lake Fayetteville aquatic center -- operated jointly by the Fayetteville and Springdale school districts -- focuses on aquatic habitats. The Illinois River Watershed Partnership focuses on water quality.

"As an environmental education community, our interests are science education -- high quality science education," said Nicole Hardiman, director of the partnership.

Schools can provide these unique opportunities for many more students with the opening of the Hunt center, said Leslie Pittman, the science curriculum coordinator for the Springdale school district. She said area schools can make use of almost any program, and the Springdale school district will incorporate the nature center "once they get up an going and the pandemic is over."

An quail display in the exhibition hall in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
An quail display in the exhibition hall in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The main entrance of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The main entrance of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The catfish pond in front of the main entrance of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The catfish pond in front of the main entrance of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The gun and archery range inside the Marksmanship Hall at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
The gun and archery range inside the Marksmanship Hall at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Director Schelly Corry describes an interactive creek in the exhibition hall in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Director Schelly Corry describes an interactive creek in the exhibition hall in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Director Schelly Corry inside a cave exhibit in the exhibition hall in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)
Director Schelly Corry inside a cave exhibit in the exhibition hall in the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center Thursday, November 5, 2020, in Springdale. The new center will open in December and feature exhibit halls, education spaces, a gun and archery range and other amenities. Check out nwaonline.com/201108Daily/ and nwadg.com/photos for a photo gallery.(NWA Democrat-Gazette/David Gottschalk)

Laurinda Joenks can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWALaurinda.

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