The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division (“NRD”) issued a news release indicating that it has re-scheduled the second in a series of public meetings to update the watershed -based management plan for the Illinois River Watershed for May 18th.
The meeting is undertaken in partnership with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission.
The meeting will be held in West Siloam Springs, Oklahoma.
The Upper Illinois River Watershed is located in Benton and Washington Counties. Further, it also travels through a small portion of Crawford County. The river and its tributaries have a number of designated uses imposed by the Arkansas Pollution Control & Ecology Commission that include:
- Fisheries
- Primary and secondary contact recreation
- Drinking water supply
- Agricultural and industrial water supply
Certain portions of the Illinois River and its tributaries have been designated as not in attainment with the designated uses.
Watershed management plan objectives are to improve water quality in the waterbody so that all waters meet their designated uses.
NRD states that it held, in conjunction with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission, its first stakeholder meeting in October 2022 with 60 attendees. It notes that the second and third meetings will be focused on conservation practice implementation. Further, input will be requested from landowners about such practices.
NRD states that stakeholders will also discuss:
- Water quality issues
- Conservation practices
- Current state of the watershed
- Next steps in development of the management plan
The meeting is set for May 18th from 2:30 to 4:00 and is open to the public.
Information regarding the meeting can be obtained by contacting Tate Wentz at tate.wentz@agriculture.arkansas.gov.
A copy of the news release can be downloaded here.
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