FAYETTEVILLE — Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland visited Fayetteville, Arkansas, today to highlight how President Biden’s Investing in America agenda and America the Beautiful initiative are restoring our nation’s lands and waters and creating healthier outdoor spaces for people and wildlife.
Secretary Haaland visited the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’s J.B. and Johnelle Hunt Family Ozark Highlands Nature Center, where she met with officials from the Commission and local leaders to discuss the challenges and opportunities facing Arkansas, including the impacts that the climate crisis is having across the state, and the ongoing, collaborative efforts to restore and conserve outdoor spaces.
The Commission was awarded a nearly $4 million grant through the America the Beautiful Challenge for the War Eagle Creek Collaborative Restoration Initiative. Together with matching funds, a total investment of $4.4 million is helping a coalition of state and federal agencies, local governments, non-governmental organizations and landowners to remove barriers to the natural movement of aquatic species.
At its completion, this project will help reconnect War Eagle Creek, restore watershed functions, and improve water quality for the surrounding habitats and communities. Overall, this effort will reconnect more than 400 stream miles, making it the largest stream restoration project ever undertaken in Arkansas. It will also remove or replace hazards on War Eagle Creek, making the waterway safer for those who live, work and recreate in this area. Through these efforts, the project will help ensure a cleaner water source for the 550,000 residents in northwest Arkansas, many of whom live in historically disadvantaged and underserved areas and provide community services like educational training and the production of informative data.
Many bird species, largemouth and smallmouth bass call the War Eagle Creek home. The waterway offers recreation opportunities for visitors, with the scenic beauty of limestone bluffs, forested hillsides and Class 1 rapids. This project will help establish the War Eagle Creek Water Trail, enhancing recreational opportunities along a 28-mile stretch of the creek.
