Audubon Arkansas
Audubon Arkansas is a environmental organization located at 201 East Markham Street in Little Rock. Audubon Arkansas is the state office of the National Audubon Society. The mission of Audubon Arkansas is "to conserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife, and their habitats for the benefit of humanity and the earth's biological diversity."
The organization is partnering with the Clinton Foundation and the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission to create the William E. "Bill" Clark Presidential Park Wetlands near the Clinton Library in downtown Little Rock.
The nonprofit is also partnering with the City of Little Rock, BFI, Horace Mann Magnet Middle School, and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality in a project to clean up and conserve Fourche Creek and its tributaries in the city. The Fourche Creek watershed holds one of America's largest urban wetlands. Audubon Arkansas maintains eight monitoring stations along the creek. Audubon Arkansas worked with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock to demolish the defunct Spinnaker Restaurant, which had its foundation within Coleman Creek. Coleman Creek runs through the campus on its way south to Fourche Creek wetlands.
The organization is spearheading an effort with the City of Little Rock to create a 2,000 acre Little Rock Nature Center. The targeted audience for the nature center is local schoolchildren. The center will feature guided tours and outdoor educational opportunities. The center will be situated on Granite Mountain near Fourche Creek and Gillam Park on the site of the defunct low income Booker Homes operated by the Little Rock Housing Authority. National Audubon Society chief executive officer John Flicker attending the 2005 lease signing by Audubon Arkansas noted, "At Audubon we believe that the future is in the hands of our children. More kids than ever are living in urban communities, where it can be challenging to make a special connection with nature. That's why we're working to establish a network of Audubon Centers across the country. And it's why we're focusing on urban areas like Little Rock where we have the opportunity to open new eyes to nature, and reach a new generation of conservation leaders."
Audubon Arkansas also partners with Tree Streets to plant native hardwood trees throughout the city of Little Rock, and especially within the Fourche Creek watershed.
The executive director of Audubon Arkansas is Ken Smith. The Audubon program director for the revitalization of Fourche creek is Johnnie Chamberlin. The bird conservation director is Dan Scheiman. Kevin Pierson is the director of conservation. Stephanie Hymel is conservation program manager. The chairperson of Audubon Arkansas' board of directors is Anna Riggs.
References
- Matthew S.L. Cate, "13 Acres to Become Wetlands Park," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, October 24, 2007.
- "Fourche Creek focus of Watershed Event," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, August 31, 2007.
- Tara M. Manthey, "Volunteers Help Trees Put Down Roots in LR," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, January 27, 2008.
- Katherine Marks, "Event Lets Kids Show Learning's a Natural," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, May 2, 2007.
- Kristin Netterstrom, "LR Volunteers Take Out the Trash," Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, September 9, 2007.
