A quality question
Posted on Wednesday, June 21, 2006
URL: http://www.nwanews.com/nwat/Editorial/41941/
Map reminds us about the importance of watersheds "A watershed is the land area that drains to a single body of water such as a stream, lake, wetland, or estuary..." Watersheds, also known as catchments, or basins, describe geography at many different scales: a few acres may drain to a small stream or wetland; a few acres may drain into an estuary where fresh and salt water mix; about 40 percent of the U.S. land area in the lower 48 states drains to the Mississippi River. Watersheds are thus "nested" — larger watersheds such as the Mississippi River basin encompass many smaller watersheds. "— Protecting and Restoring America’s Watersheds Environmental Protection Agency
June 2001 Spiraling forward along a backwoods road, it’s easy to cross that little one-lane bridge over a shallow stream meandering toward no discernible destination without really realizing what one is witnessing.
All those slender, shallow, peaceful streams that help define Northwest Arkansas — and North America, for that matter — aren’t there just to create idyllic scenery. These tributaries help feed the world of nature around us. Without them, life as we know it would be fundamentally different.
Just imagine, for example, the importance of water quality to the American economy, and the vast amounts of damage negligence in this area could cause.
Many problems are sure to always be with us, but always caring for the earth’s natural environment, with area watersheds being close to or at the top of the list, is the sort of issue that cuts across political divides or social strata.
Due to the importance of caring for as many watersheds as possible, it makes one recent news item all the more noteworthy. Last week we learned that a map of the West Fork of the White River watershed (complete with photos, history, and more) has recently been completed by Audubon Arkansas. Surely its involvement comes as no surprise, as the" restoration and protection of watersheds and other habitats important to birds and other wildlife" is listed as one of the organization’s chief reasons for being.
One year in the making, the watershed map is a projected funded by the Arkansas Forestry Commission and the Beaver Water District. The Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale also helped with bringing the package together.
The basic idea is to create a tool that will inform the general public about the history and ongoing importance of one local watershed, and ultimately, to make sure many more of them are protected from danger. Talk already exists of expanding the project for the whole Beaver Lake watershed.
It’s easy to underestimate how far and wide a watershed exists, and how a seemingly small decision can have major ecological impacts. Tools like this map will help educate us all about our natural environment. We consider its creation a real service to our community.