Regional planners are expected to get an update Wednesday afternoon on a study of the Cave Springs recharge area that has delayed a number of highway projects, including a proposed access road to Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.
"These are their findings from the work they've completed so far," said Tim Conklin of the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission. "It's an update."
What’s underfoot
Karst topography is a landscape created by groundwater dissolving sedimentary rock such as limestone. This creates land forms such as caves, springs and sinkholes. Groundwater seeps into and through the land forms. The result is a scenic landscape that is beautiful but fragile and vulnerable to erosion and pollution. Much of the Ozark Highlands is underlain with karst topography.
Source: Staff Report
The 16-mile wide recharge area is home to endangered gray bats, salamanders and several sensitive crustaceans, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The service estimates about half of all the known Ozark blind cavefish in the world are in the Cave Springs recharge area. The Ozark blind cavefish is listed as threatened on the federal Endangered Species List. Findings from the study should provide city officials and developers details about conditions in the area, according to planners.
The recharge area became an issue after wildlife officials expressed concern in late 2012 about the effect of road improvement projects. The study was approved in early 2013.
Highway projects such as improvement to Arkansas 264 from Lowell to Cave Springs, the U.S. 412 bypass and the creation of an Arkansas 112 corridor have been on hold waiting for a new study. The airport access road got caught up in the fray even though the proposed route lies outside the study area.
"We've been sitting on some projects until this study is complete," said Randy Ort, a spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department. "We hope once the study is done we will be able to move forward with improvements to Arkansas 264 and the Arkansas 112 corridor and better access to the airport and other projects."
Some $625,000 was earmarked for the study. The federal government is paying about $500,000 and about $125,000 is from the Highway Department.
The recharge area includes the southwest corner of Rogers, much of Lowell and the area around Cave Springs where a cave opens on Lake Keith. It is part of the Illinois River Watershed.
The Illinois River Watershed Partnership acquired 30 acres in 2012 around where the recharge area empties into Lake Keith and the cave to protect the area.
A study of the recharge area in 1978 and 1979 caused the Highway Department to swing Interstate 540 to the east to protect the cavefish and other aquatic plants and animals.
There have been other studies of the recharge area, including one in 2001 for the Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport access corridor. A 2007 study by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service looked at community growth and best management practices for the conservation of karst recharge zones.
NW News on 03/23/2015