Aubrey James Shepherd shares WPWP big poster the week before 2010 Earth Day at WPWP

Photo from WPWP in Winter 2011 issue of Piedmont Virginian magazine

Please click on individual images to large page views from Piedmont Virginian.

Next meeting: Feb 15, 2011: previous meeting was reset: Fayetteville's proposed streamside-protection ordinance to be discussed after first reading during 6 p.m. Thursday, February 3, 2011, City Council meeting; WPWP was made a city nature park in great part to continue to serve as the riparian zone of the several streamlets that run through and adjacent to it and the absorbent soil that protects the property of people who live downstream along the Town Branch of the West Fork of the White River and to protect the quality of Beaver Lake water as well as to provide wildlife habitat and a portion of our city's green network and a peaceful place for individuals and for small groups to gather to watch birds and see diverse native flora

Streamside Protection Ordinance

The Nutrient Reduction Plan, completed in April 2009 by Geosyntec Consultants as part of an Agreement with the Beaver Water District and the City of Fayetteville, recommends the development and implementation of a riparian buffer ordinance. This ordinance is part of a series of recommendations designed to reduce non-point source loadings of total phosphorus in the Beaver Lake Watershed and would ultimately reduce the non-point source loadings of total phosphorus in all the City’s waterways.

The City of Fayetteville hosted two public education and input sessions on streamside protection in early March, as well as an online survey during March and April, in order to get citizen input in the development of the ordinance.  Questions asked of participants included input into which streams should have buffer protection and what activities should be allowed or prohibited in the protected areas.   

A question and answer session for property owners who might be affected was held on October 12 at the City Administration building.  The question and answer slide show from this meeting can be found HERE.

The Planning Commission forwarded the Streamside Protection Ordinance to the City Council with a recommendation for approval on November 8, 2010 with a vote of 7-2-0. The ordinance will go to City Council on February 1, 2011.

View a draft of the current proposed Streamside Protection Ordinance that goes before the City Council for review on 2_01_11.
View a draft of the City's Streamside Protection Best Practices Manual.
View a draft of the City's Streamside Protection Zone Map.
View a draft of the City's Streamside Protection Ordinance that was forwarded by the Planning Commission on 11_08_10.

The Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service published a Streamside Protection Ordinance Fact Sheet which also offers information on protecting riparian zones.

Images from March 6 Input Session and field trip to College Branch at Martin Luther King Boulevard
(March 6 Images courtesy of Aubrey Shepherd)

        
         

Images from March 10 Input Session and field trip to College Branch 

        

 For more photos of areas where riparian zones (the vegetated area adjacent to stream banks including flow areas too far upstream to be protected by this proposed ordiinance) are NOT properly managed as well as places where wetland and riparian areas of streams have been protected, please see the following sets of photos as stills or slide shows on Flickr:
Limestone and sunken wetland
Streamside management
Government Avenue at Prairie Street floodplain of Tanglewood Branch
 Red Oak Park in Ward 4
 Aspen Ridge/Hill Place project in Ward 1's Town Branch Neighborhood
 Baum Stadium detention pond and fence construction on 15th Street
 Illinois River watershed
 Watershed of the West Fork of the White River
  Town Branch Watershed set on Flickr
Pinnacle wet prairie set on Flickr
 Ruskin Heights in Illinois River watershed
 Park West Wetland
Audubon Wilson Spring wetland and adjacent sites
Prairie plants lurk under former pastures
 Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department
 Trails in Northwest Arkansas
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Phone: (479) 718-7600 or TDD (Telecommunications Device for the Deaf): (479) 521-1316

Cedar waxwings appreciate invasive, nonnative Chinese privet berries in worst of winter

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view of waxwings gobbling privet berries on January 24, 2011, at World Peace Wetland Prairie. Many decades ago, the Chinese privet was introduced to Northwest Arkansas and it thrives despite the efforts of native-landscaping enthusiasts. The birds don't complain. In fact, they keep eating the berries and spreading the seeds. There are many reasons to replace such invasive species with natives, but the process is difficult and we don't get much help from the birds.

PBS video on the ability of crows to learn to recognize dangerous faces and share their knowledge with others

Watch the full episode. See more Nature.

Uncut native grass and wildflower seeds draw a variety of sparrows and many other seed-eating species to WPWP peace circle and butterfly gardens on snowy January 20, 2011

Please click on individual images to enlarge view of scenes from WPWP on January 20, 2011. For a set of WPWP snow and ice photos from recent yearss, please use link.
Bluejay with a berry in its beak.

Dark-eyed Junco in second photo.

Dark-eyed Junco and another species of sparrow in third photo.

Chipping sparrow in fourth photo.

March 30 to April 13, 2007 video of water & sewer work on South Duncan Avenue and other outdoor activities in Fayetteville, Arkansas

Audubon's Wilson Spring wetland nature area on Jan. 19, 2011: 185 photos from a 2-mile walk with Mike Mhlodnow

Wilson Spring nature area: Tagging along with one of Northwest Arkansas' most dedicated and talented birders.

Please click on image to ENLARGE and use link above to view more photos of Mike and the scenes along the way.

September 18, 2006, video of eroded fill dirt washing off the Aspen Ridge (now Hill Place) construction site at 11th Street and South Duncan Avenue, immediately north of WPWP

Fayetteville's Environmental Action Committee working to encourage more people to improve urban wildlife habitat

Fletcher wildlife garden similar in purpose and design to World Peace Wetland Prairie and a great model for people interested in creating urban wildlife habitat.

Invasive Japanese and China honeysuckle and privet keep demanding attention and Lauren Hawkins enjoyed part of both Saturday and Sunday attacking the problem at WPWP the second weekend of January 2011

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE view from Jan. 8 in top photo and Jan. 9 in second photo. I hope to get to photograph a bit of snow on WPWP tomorrow!

Sedge in ditch worth saving from Highway Department dredge

Dump truck begins, senior discussion of old-time country music followed by wetland delineators talking about Corps of Engineers' rules and then debate about value of WPWP habitat

January 2, 2010, just another workday at WPWP

 Please click on individual images to ENLARGE.