Buffalo National River Partners Newsletter January March 2015 Letter from the President It s been quiet on the Buffalo in the past few months. And, despite the last few weeks of winter weather in February and March, we ve been fortunate to have relatively mild temperatures to enjoy the beauty of America s first national river. Even winter time gives us a great opportunity to enjoy the grandeur of the Buffalo. During this quiet time, some of your Board of Directors and BNRP members were working ardently on a new BNRP website. The site made its debut on March 6 and has been given a very positive response. We have many features that we felt would improve communication among the board, BNRP members and the park but were not available on our old website. One of the improvements to the site is a Calendar of Events where activities and programs are listed by month. Visitors to the site can view the calendar either in a list format or on an actual calendar. During the year, as events and activities are planned, they will be added to the event list and calendar. We will continue to send out the monthly event calendar via email but will not be in as much detail as on the website. Another feature of the website is that members can log volunteer hours online. You must be a member of BNRP to log your hours. Each member has been sent an initial log on and password and once signed in, you can go to the Member Area (upper right corner), click on Log Volunteer Hours and then fill out the form. Once you click Submit your hours are sent directly to Mike Simpson, BNR s Volunteer Coordinator. These hours are so important because BNR gets additional funding for all volunteer hours that are turned in. I would like to thank Peggy Thompson for compiling our BNRP hours during 2014 and reporting them to BNR. We appreciate you, Peggy, for doing that for BNRP! If you didn t get your log on information, please send an email to BNRP email address bnrpinc@gmail.com. With our new site, all newsworthy articles will appear on the home page and will move to one of the categories within the site for archival purposes. For example, you will be able to find a past newsletter under the Newsletter category or you can find photos and descriptions of events archived under photos. As we move into the new year, we are fortunate to have two new Board of Directors positions filled. Jacque Alexander will be our new Treasurer and Ginger Milan has taken the post of Membership Chair. If you have questions about your membership, either one of these board members will be able to answer your query. In addition, although not a board position, BNRP member Teri Gage is our new Communications Volunteer. She will update and post on BNRP Facebook page as well as take care of Twitter and Instagram. Thank you, Teri, for taking on this responsibility. We have been able to catch our breath over the winter months, which is a good thing since spring is gearing up to be quite active with activities and events. Hikes and float trips are being planned for the spring as well as educational programs to go with them. All in all, 2015 is going to be a busy year for members of BNRP. We look forward to having you join us for activities, events and volunteer opportunities. See you on the river, Sybil
BNRP members provide dinner for student trail builders Each year Ken Smith brings in students from various colleges and universities to help him build hiking trails along the Buffalo National River. As most of you are aware, Ken has been building trails since the 1980s with help from local volunteers as well as hiking clubs and other conservation groups from different colleges all over the U.S. His main focus is on the Buffalo River Trail (BRT), which, when completed will run the entire length of the Buffalo National River. This year 13 students from Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas joined Ken and other volunteers (Ray DeAngelo and Richard McFadden) for a week-long adventure in working on a section of the BRT. Members of BNRP provided a dinner for the group on March 19th at Tyler Bend Pavilion. BNRP members who participated in the event were Peggy Thompson, Jacque Alexander, Vickie Martin, Ginger Milan, Richard McFadden and Rick and Sybil Craig. Frank Smith, BNR trail supervisor and his brother, Steve dropped by to enjoy the evening, too. BNRP member Laura Timby and husband, David, made arrangements for the group to go to the Gilbert Community Center the following evening for dinner. Many thanks to these BNRP members who contributed to providing a hot, nourishing meal for our student trail builders. And, we all send a special thanks to the students of TSU who made the trip up to the Buffalo to help Ken on the trails.
Wildflowers of the Ozarks It was a special treat at the Boone County Library on February 24 when Linda Glass presented a program entitled, Wildflowers of the Ozarks for the monthly BNRP program. Linda is a very active volunteer for the organization and is best known for her efforts in restoring the cane furniture at Buffalo Point. She has given her time and her talents to bring back to life the furniture that was originally built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s and 40s. Who knew she had additional talents? Linda is a gifted nature photographer focusing on wildflowers in the Ozarks. She doesn t just photograph them though. As a retired science teacher, she is a believer in the value of identifying the objects of her camera lens. She researches until she is able to name the flower. If it is unidentifiable, she will consult experts in the field such as professors at the University of Arkansas. Linda has been photographing area flowers for over forty years. It was quite apparent to audience members that Linda is very passionate about wildflowers. If she said it once, she said it twenty times, This one is one of my favorites! Or, This one is really pretty! Not only did she share her pictures, she also told everyone where the different species of flowers could be found, many of which were along trails and back roads along the Buffalo River. Other places where she has photographed wildflowers include Highway 7, south of Jasper, Highway 62/412 from Bellefonte to Yellville, the Cotter Trail, Highway 7 north to Lead Hill and of course, Baker s Prairie. The Ozarks are blessed with an abundance of beautiful wildflowers, wild hyacinth, purple coneflower, sweet William, milkweed, Carolina Larkspur, Indian paintbrush and many more. We are also blessed to have treasures like Linda Glass, who shares her talents and gifts to benefit all of us. Get out this spring and see if you can discover this natural beauty for yourself. From Linda s handout Websites: missouribotanicalgarden.org/plantfinder florabymax.net naturalheritage.com anps.org Facebook: Wildflowers of Arkansas, Arkansas Native Plants To buy plants and seeds: rngr.net (directory of places to buy native plants and seeds) Pine Ridge Gardens near Russellville (pineridgegardens.com) Missouri Wildflower Nursery (mowildflowers.net) Wildseed Farms in Texas (wildseedfarms.com) From Bass to Zinc: place names in Boone and Newton Counties Susan Young from the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History once again delighted the audience of about 40 people at the Boone Co. Library in Harrison as she presented, From Bass to Zinc: Place Names in Boone and Newton Counties. Susan began by reviewing how the state of Arkansas, the Ozarks and Boone County got their names. All of the research came from Ernie Dean, a travel journalist of Arkansas Gazette, who traveled the state to get everyday stories from people he met. He amassed files of information and turned most of them over to the Shiloh Museum. It began when French explorers came upon Quapaw who pronounced the name for the area, which sounded to the French like Arkansea and Aux Arcs. In 1806 the area became known as Arkansas and Ozarks. Boone County was formed from Marion and Carroll Counties and, because the railroad was to come through the area, residents felt it would be a boon to the economy. Susan then selected several Boone Co. towns (Harrison, Bellefonte, Lead Hill, and Zinc) and explained how those towns were named. Discussion arose surrounding the naming of Harrison as county seat since Bellefonte was originally the location of county government. Newton County was named after a U.S. Marshall (Thomas Newton) and small towns (Jasper, Deer, Nail and Bass) were settled. Nail, as some in the area recall was named for the postmaster (Neal) while others felt as though the town was named for a rusty nail. Although many town origin names are clear-cut, others are not. As Susan pointed out in her discussion, a historian can talk with one person and get a different story from another person. However a town got its name in Arkansas, there are always interesting stories that surround the name.
BNR honors Linda Bishop, retired Interpretive Ranger On what turned out to be a very cold and snowy evening in January, employees of Buffalo National River, BNRP members and a host of others arrived at Western Sizzlin to honor Linda Bishop who retired from the National Park Service in December. During her 29 years of service for the Buffalo National River, she was an interpretive ranger on the Upper Buffalo. The Park Service presented Linda with a photo by Michael Dougherty of Boxley Mill, a favorite hangout for Linda. The Mill was a focal point in the last few years of Linda s service as she led tours every weekend for the multitude of visitors who came to Boxley Valley during the fall. The Park also presented the official logo (Arrowhead) to her. BNRP members presented Linda with a memory box (see photo) so that she would have something to remember all of the volunteers who helped her in Boxley Valley. We all want to express our appreciation to Linda for her incredible work as a park ranger and her patience with the volunteers who came to help. We will miss Linda as a ranger but know that we will see her again in some capacity along the Buffalo. Thank you, Linda for an incredible 29 years! Teri, Linda and Rochelle with Boxley Mill Artwork Caven Clark presenting the Arrowhead to Linda BNRP memory box Thank you to our newsletter contributors: Sybil Craig Linda Glass Rob Lambert Ginger Milan Peggy Thompson Would you like to get the newsletter in email form? Just fill out the information on the form below. We ll add you to our newsletter email list. Please mail the form to BNRP, P.O. Box 1914, Harrison, AR, 72602 Name Email Address City State Zip
Mark your calendars for upcoming events April 3...Tyler Bend Gardens Clean up April 4...4th Annual Spring Fling Hike April 11...3rd Annual Ozark Historic Cemetery Stroll with Abby Burnett April 22...Earth Day Buffalo River Clean up April 28... Nurture Nature Plant Natives, Pam Stewart Detailed information about these events can be found on the BNRP website (www.bnrpartners.org) Our mission is to support the Buffalo National River by providing financial resources, technical assistance, advocacy and volunteers to assist in helping preserve its unique cultural and natural features, educate its visitors about the park s significance and mission, and to improve the facilities of the Buffalo National River. Welcome new members: Daniel Smiley Barry & Terrie Martindale Steve Sanders Linda Bishop Gil Reynolds Rachael Schaffner Judy Thompson BNRP Board Members: Jacque Alexander Sybil Craig Rob Lambert Ginger Milan Rachael Moyer Tony Rees Dan Reynolds Jeanne Simpson Jack Stewart Pam Stewart Laura Timby BNRP Officers Sybil Craig....President....870-704-9114.... slcraig@airmail.net vacant....vice President........................................................ Rachael Moyer...Secretary....870-421-5350.... rachael.m.moyer@gmail.com Jacque Alexander....Treasurer....870-365-2881.... vickiem5451@gmail.com Jeanne Simpson...Editor....870-736-2171.... design.simpson@gmail.com Ginger Milan....Membership Chair....870-741-5320.... pmilan@windstream.net Membership Form Name Address Phone Email Areas of Interest (check all that apply): Board of Directors Committee Volunteering Financial Support Other Dues (check one): River Wader... $15 River Paddler...$25 River Rafter...$50 River Runner..$100 River Partner. $250 River Guardian..$500 Founding Member.. $2500 (Lifetime membership) Send form and payment to: Buffalo National River Partners P.O. Box 1914 Harrison, AR 72602 870-354-2881 or 870-704-9114 email: bnrpinc@gmail.com You can also join on our website: www.bnrpartners.org