NORTHWEST TERRITORY : Audubon releases new northwest watershed map
Posted on Thursday, July 6, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/adg/Northwest_Outdoors/159748/
Learning the “lay of the land” for
the most vital habitat of
Northwest Arkansas has never been easier since the recent publication of a new, large-scale and detailed map by Audubon Arkansas. The region’s most important terrain, of course, is the Beaver Lake watershed encompassing the lake, the White River and its major tributaries, along with the Kings River and War Eagle Creek. The sprawling watershed in and around our fast-growing cities not only provides our drinking water, but it also represents our most important natural resource for fish, wildlife and outdoors recreation. The new map focuses on the West Fork of the White River watershed, with the 124 square miles of the watershed depicted in color on a map measuring 24 by 36 inches.
The large-scale detail traces the course of the West Fork from its headwaters near Winslow and north through West Fork, Greenland and the eastern edge of Fayetteville to Lake Sequoyah.
Along the course of the river, the map identifies tributary creeks, major highways, city boundaries, significant landmarks and other points of interest to provide perspective on the watershed’s boundaries.
From the standpoint of getting better acquainted with the watershed on a personal basis, the map also shows access points for paddling, hiking and wildlife viewing from one end of the watershed to the other.
Canoe accesses, for example, are identified at Woolsey Bridge and Riverside Park in West Fork; Baptist Ford in Greenland; The Old Pump Station Dam in Fayetteville; and lakes Wilson and Sequoyah just east of Fayetteville.
Besides finding the map to be a great orientation to the West Fork, my attention also was drawn to the many waterrelated “factoids” printed around the border of the map.
One, for example, noted that if all the water on earth could be poured into a gallon jug, only one capful would be fit to drink.
Small insets on the front side of the map also put the watershed in perspective with the rest of the Beaver Lake watershed and the much larger White River watershed reaching from here to the Mississippi River.
And all that is just the half of it for a map considered the “first of its kind,” according to Fran Free, Audubon’s education coordinator in Fayetteville.
Free said the map was produced with more than $ 4, 000 in funding provided by the Beaver Water District and the Arkansas Forestry Commission. Free did much of the research and wrote the text for the map during the past year, with graphic artist Kim Johnson of Fayetteville providing design assistance.
Designed to be an educational tool highlighting the importance and function of the watershed, the first copies of the maps were destined for landowners living along the West Fork, key policymakers in the area and every teacher at public schools in the watershed.
However, with extra printings in progress, the general public will be able to obtain free copies of the map upon request.
As an educational tool, the entire reverse side of the map is taken up with photos, diagrams and text contained in sections devoted to various aspects of the watershed.
One section defines and illustrates different kinds of watersheds, which generally refer to a basin with a river and tributary streams flowing into a lake.
Another section describes and illustrates how water moves through the “karst” habitat of sinkholes, caves, underground streams and other porous limestone features common in the Ozarks.
Other sections are devoted to the flora and fauna of the watershed, as well as its history of human occupation going back to the early 1800 s.
A key section is titled “Why Is the West Fork Watershed Important ?” It discusses its importance as our water supply and to aquatic life, as well as the threats posed to water quality from agricultural uses and urban development.
Although the West Fork of the White River watershed represents only a small fraction of the entire Beaver Lake watershed, the new map represents a small step toward a much larger goal.
“We hope to produce similar maps of the other parts of the Beaver Lake watershed,” Free said, mentioning the watersheds of the Kings River, War Eagle Creek and the Middle Fork of the White River.
In the meantime, anyone interested in a copy of the West Fork map can contact Free at (479 ) 527-0700 or Amy Wilson with the Beaver Water District at (479 ) 756-3651.
Expect the initial demand to exceed supply until another printing is completed.