City Corporation -- Russellville Water and Sewer -- is pushing forward with a plan to dam the North Fork of the Illinois Bayou in the Ozark National Forest of northern Pope County. This stream is designated as an Extraordinary Resource Water (ERW) by the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission.  The proposed damming would destroy an Ozark highland creek ecosystem and one of the wildest places in Arkansas. Wild turkey, whitetail deer, black bear, smallmouth bass, numerous native wildflowers, pollinators and various other organisms that call these lonely hills and hollows home would be displaced and their habitat destroyed. Hunting, fishing, hiking, paddling, wildlife watching and the overall outdoor culture of the region would be destroyed as well.

New technology enables water municipalities to pull from sources such as the Arkansas River and still offer clean and great tasting water from the tap. There are other options.

If you appreciate the Ozark Mountain upland forests and watersheds for their simple rugged beauty, if you understand there is no improvement on nature’s perfection, if you know the riches of this world are found in the gobble of a wild turkey; the swirl of a bronze bass; and the velvet silence of a winter’s night in the hills, if you value the quiet dignity of the Ozark National Forest and its timeless connection to our Arkansas natural heritage, add your voice to ours.

This is our Ozark National Forest.

This is where we stand together to protect it.