On March 1, 1972, the Buffalo River in north Arkansas became the first national river. It was a momentous moment for Arkansas, one whose full impact we've yet to realize as we approach the 50th anniversary.
It didn't happen overnight, but that designation helped turn the tide as far as the national image of Arkansas is concerned. For the previous 15 years, Americans' impressions of Arkansas were based on those awful events in the fall of 1957 when the Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis became the biggest news story in the world.
Over time, Arkansas began to be viewed, rather than a violent, backward place, as a beautiful state in which to fish, hunt, camp, hike and take part in other outdoor recreational pursuits. For that, we have people such as Neil Compton and John Paul Hammerschmidt to thank.
President Richard Nixon signed Public Law 92-237 on that first day of March and put the river under the protection of the National Park Service. The designation changed the way people thought about Arkansas. Perhaps more importantly, it changed the way we thought of ourselves, as Arkansas came to be known as the Natural State.
The law begins: "That for the purposes of conserving and interpreting an area containing unique scenic and scientific features, and preserving as a free-flowing stream an important segment of the Buffalo River in Arkansas for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, the Secretary of the Interior ... may establish and administer the Buffalo National River."
"Behind that sentence, which set the mission of the park, were decades of debate and discussion regarding the use, ownership and management of the river," the Central Arkansas Library System's Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes. "With passage of the Flood Control Act of 1938, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers included the Buffalo River in its planning for a system of dams in the White River basin. Two potential dam sites eventually were selected on the Buffalo, one on the lower portion of the river near its mouth and one at its middle, just upstream from Gilbert in Searcy County.
"The continual threat of a dam on the Buffalo caught the attention of Arkansas conservation groups and those who had begun using the river for recreation or simply appreciated the free-flowing stream as a spectacular natural resource for the state. In the early 1960s, advocates for dams and advocates for a free-flowing stream formed opposing organizations. The pro-dam Buffalo River Improvement Association, established by James Tudor of Marshall, and the anti-dam Ozark Society, which included environmentalist Neil Compton, emerged as leading players in the drama."
U.S. Rep. James Trimble, a Democrat, was a strong supporter of a dam. Much to his chagrin, a Park Service planning team surveyed the area in 1961 and recommended that a park be established under the "national river" designation. A full decade of speeches, rallies, newspaper stories and political maneuvers followed that visit.
A turning point came when William O. Douglas, a justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, participated in a canoe trip on the Buffalo that received national media attention. Another turning point came in December 1965 when Gov. Orval Faubus wrote a letter to the Corps stating that he could no longer support a dam.
The biggest turning point occurred in November 1966 when Hammerschmidt, a Republican lumber store owner from Harrison, defeated Trimble. Hammerschmidt made clear that he supported establishment of a national river. U.S. Sens. J. William Fulbright and John L. McClellan came aboard, joining Hammerschmidt in introducing legislation in 1967.
The bill that finally passed was introduced in 1971. Hearings took place that fall, and final passage came in February 1972.
"Park acreage, boundaries and special considerations were written into the legislation," the Encyclopedia of Arkansas notes. "Total acreage couldn't exceed 95,370 acres. Hunting and fishing were allowed as a traditional use. Many permanent residents had an option of use and occupancy up to 25 years. Landowners in the three private use zones of Boxley Valley, Richland Valley and the Boy Scout camp at Camp Orr could choose to sell easements to the government instead of selling the land outright.
"The first park management staff--the superintendent, a chief ranger and a secretary--arrived in 1972 and took up temporary office quarters in Harrison. The park later was divided into three management districts with staff in each district. Besides setting up park facilities and development programs, the staff had to face the emotional turmoil regarding the disruption of life for Buffalo River residents, whether they were willing or unwilling sellers."
Compton, a Bentonville physician, had entered the fray in the early 1960s. Having long hiked and paddled in the Buffalo River area, he accepted the Ozark Society presidency at the organizational meeting in May 1962.
"During Compton's 12-year tenure as its president, the Ozark Society conducted a vigorous and ultimately successful campaign to stop construction of the two dams," writes the Ozark Society's John Heuston. "Compton was also a talented author and photographer. He wrote his first book in 1982, 'The High Ozarks: A Vision of Eden,' featuring photographs he made during his Ozark explorations.
"This was followed in 1992 by 'The Battle for the Buffalo River: A Conservation Crisis in the Ozarks,' published by the University of Arkansas Press and nominated for the National Book Award. Compton's 'The Buffalo River in Black and White' was published by Ozark Society Books in 1997."
At the society's organizational meeting, 28 people paid $1 to join. One of them was Samuel Claudius Dellinger, the head of the University of Arkansas Department of Zoology for more than 30 years and curator of its museum. Dellinger, a North Carolina native, had built the museum's archaeology collection into one of the best in the country. He served on the science faculty at Hendrix College in Conway from 1915-18 before beginning his long UA career in the fall of 1921.
"Dellinger was protective of Arkansas' rich archaeological heritage and often denounced what he viewed as the pillaging of Arkansas by out-of-state museums," Robert Mainfort writes in a short biography of Dellinger, who died in 1973. "His concerns weren't off the mark, and it was this attitude that spurred Dellinger to obtain research grants that built the archaeology collections.
"His archaeological field crews obtained many complete Native American pottery vessels from northeast Arkansas, as well as remarkably well-preserved artifacts (baskets, sandals and other items) from bluff shelters in the Ozarks. During the mid-1930s, Dellinger obtained and catalogued a number of extraordinary artifacts that had been looted from Craig Mound at Spiro, Okla."
In addition to his archaeological and conservation efforts, Dellinger was interested in Ozark folklore. He joined forces with Sam Leath and Vance Randolph to organize folklore meetings at Eureka Springs in the 1920s.
Following its organizational meeting, the Ozark Society's first activity was a float on the Buffalo in the spring of 1963. In 1969, the society received the coveted National Conservation Achievement Award. Compton, meanwhile, had received the American Motors Conservation Award in 1964 along with awards from the Sears Roebuck Foundation and the National Wildlife Federation.
Compton died in February 1999, and some of his ashes were placed by his family in the Buffalo.
The list of people who played a role in the national river designation is long. I only scratch the surface in mentioning Compton, Hammerschmidt and Dellinger.
In an era when outdoor recreational opportunities will play a huge role in attracting smart, talented people to Arkansas, we owe the conservationists all a debt of gratitude for the political battles they fought more than half a century ago.
Rex Nelson is a senior editor at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.