President’s Letter:

It is time to give thanks. Both Thanksgiving and Christmas to me are a time to be thankful for what we have and what we have accomplished in the past year. I am very thankful for my family and friends who have supported me and the work AWF is doing. It takes a lot of my personal time and money to get the job done. I estimate I work about 20 to 30 hours a week on AWF business: going to events to represent AWF; working on my computer; answering emails and phone calls; writing reports; and, of course, working on projects AWF is sponsoring and working on. All of this I do as a volunteer.

One of AWF major work in progress is the Bearcat Hollow Project in the Ozarks National Forest. This is a project I am very proud of and the work AWF has accomplished. These accomplishments would not be possible without the partnerships we have formed with U S Forest Service, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, National Forest Foundation, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Audubon of Arkansas, Arkansas Tech University Fisheries and Wildlife Society, and several other organizations who have been a part of this tremendous Habitat Improvement Project, to help support fish and wildlife for future generations.

I am also thankful for the AWF board and membership who have been very helpful and supported this project. It does take an army of supporters to accomplish this goal AWF has set to benefit conservation.

I feel we as a human race should be willing and able to support conservation and, in some cases, preservation to sustain what we have here on this earth. I feel each one of us needs to do our part to support conservation. You ask, “What can one person do to make a difference?”

You can start by not wasting (e.g. energy, water, food, life, etc.), you can practice recycling everything you use and try hard not to put it into landfills, you can try to ride to work (carpool) with someone to save fuel and, at the same time, this will help with pollution of our air. We all can make a difference on this great earth we share together.

So I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, or Happy Hannukah, but I also hope you will make a New Year’s Resolution and do your part to Make A Difference for Conservation. AWF appreciates your support. AWF is supported by donations only and 100% of your donation stays in Arkansas. So please join us today and we can make a difference for conservation. Membership starts at $25/year.

Thanks for your support
Wayne Shewmake

Currently the U.S doesn’t regulate carbon emissions on the basis that it is not classified as a pollutant. Despite the number of developed nations who have signed on to the Kyoto protocol, the current administration is sticking to the argument that it will destroy the economy.  However, global warming potentially poses the greatest risk human health the world has ever seen. Right now there is legislation being drafted known as the Climate Stewardship Act. This act seeks to regulate carbon emissions through a system of cap and trade, where C02 emitters can buy carbon credits to meet regulations on carbon.  For more information about the climate stewardship act go here (link to PDF “summary and facts”). To view the top ten reasons to support the act go here (link to PDF “top 10”).

Arkansas Groups Involved in Global Warming

The following conservation organizations in Arkansas have been very active in our mutual commitment to reduce global warming. They are:

Ken Smith kensmith@audubon.org.
Executive Director
Audubon Arkansas
1423B South Main St.
Little Rock, AR 72201
501) 244-2229

Glenn Hooks glen.hooks@sierraclub.org
Associate Regional Representative
Sierra Club of Arkansas
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501-301-8280)

Don Richardson  dsrenviro@gmail.com
Director
Arkansas Climate Awareness Project 501-592-1391

Robert McClarty robert@themarkhamgroup.net
Pew Environmental Group
The Markham Group
823 W Markham St # 202
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-324-6000

Rob Fisher fisher@ecoconservation.org
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Ecological Conservation Organization (ECO)
120 S. Cross St.
Little Rock, AR  72201

Bill Kopsky  bill@arpanel.org
Executive Director
Arkansas Public Policy Panel
1308 West 2nd Street

Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
0- 501-376-7913    Fax 501-374-3935

Art Hobson ahobson@uark.edu
Physics Professor Emeritus of Physic
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
479-575-5918

Ethan Nahté  arkwf@sbcglobal.net
Executive Director
Arkansas Wildlife Federation
9108 Rodney Parham Road, Suite 101
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 24-9200

Recently a nation wide poll was taken to assess where sportsman stand on the issue of global warming. It was discovered that a majority of sportsman now believe that Global Warming is a cause for concern. To view some of the results of the Nationwide poll go here ; To view the results of the Arkansas specific portion of the poll go here. To see media coverage of this poll go here.

The following conservation organizations in Arkansas have been very active in our mutual commitment to reduce global warming. They are:

Ken Smith
Executive Director
Audubon Arkansas
1423B South Main St.
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 244-2229

Glenn Hooks
Associate Regional Representative
Sierra Club of Arkansas
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 301-8280

Don Richardson
Director
Arkansas Climate Awareness Project
(501) 592-1391

Robert McClarty robert@themarkhamgroup.net
Pew Environmental Group
The Markham Group
823 W Markham St # 202
Little Rock, AR 72201
(501) 324-6000

Rob Fisher
Executive Director and Co-Founder
Ecological Conservation Organization (ECO)
120 S. Cross St.
Little Rock, AR  72201

Bill Kopsky 
Executive Director
Arkansas Public Policy Panel
1308 West 2nd Street
Little Rock, Arkansas 72201
(501) 376-7913; Fax (501) 374-3935

Art Hobson
Physics Professor Emeritus of Physic
University of Arkansas
Fayetteville, AR 72701
(479) 575-5918

Ethan Nahte
Executive Director
Arkansas Wildlife Federation
9108 Rodney Parham Road, Suite 101
Little Rock, AR 72205
(501) 224-9200
(501) 224-2670

In addition there are many simple things individuals can do to lower energy consumption and slow the onset of global warming. This includes recycling, the use of public transportation, the use of renewable energy including solar and wind, buying locally, and turning out the lights to name a few.  For more information on alternative lifestyle options go here (link to PDF “individual solutions to GW).  Until CO2 emissions are regulated in this country an individual can take many steps to lower their own carbon footprint. If you are curious about how heavy your carbon footprint (CO2) measures up, you can check it at this page.

Furthermore solutions such as carbon sequestration which is the removal of carbon from the atmosphere and feeding it to soils, forests, oceans, and other natural cycles are becoming an option for the management of carbon in the atmosphere.  To learn more about carbon sequestration go here.

In the end lowering fossil fuel use will likely come from a combination of alternative technologies and practicing energy conservation and conscious consumption in our daily lives.

Legislation and Global Warming
Currently the U.S doesn’t regulate carbon emissions on the basis that it is not classified as a pollutant.  Despite the number of developed nations who have signed on to the Kyoto protocol, the current administration is sticking to the argument that it will destroy the economy.  However, global warming potentially poses the greatest risk human health the world has ever seen. Right now there is legislation being drafted known as the Climate Stewardship Act.  This act seeks to regulate carbon emissions through a system of cap and trade, where C02 emitters can buy carbon credits to meet regulations on carbon.  For more information about the climate stewardship act go here (link to PDF “summary and facts”).  To view the top ten reasons to support the act go here (link to PDF “top 10”).

Global warming has already been shown to have adverse effects on wildlife, including a migration to higher latitudes and a northward shift of home ranges An analysis of many scientific articles was compiled into a larger report  and a majority of the findings were shown to be consistent with global warming predictions for organisms. In addition, the Parmesan report which outlines current global warming impacts on community and ecosystem change can be viewed here. 

Global Warming, Arkansas Sportsman, and Game Species

Increasingly sportsman and hunters have become more and more aware about the effects of global warming on their particular game species.  In Arkansas 77% of hunters and anglers agree global warming is currently occurring, and 74% agree global warming is a threat to the state economy because it depends upon income from natural resources, such as the timber industry and hunting and fishing.

The website target global warming  deals with the relationship between global warming and hunters, and has the results of the national sportsman poll on global warming. Also a wealth of information on the potential effects of global warming on game and relevant fish species in Arkansas is addressed on this site.

Duck hunters interested in passing on their sporting traditions to their children and grandchildren should be aware of the potential negative effects that Global Warming can have on their favorite duck species. Also, anglers should be concerned with global warming, and the potential effects it poses to the survival of game species in the many generations to come.  Coldwater fish are particularly vulnerable because they don’t respond well to warming water.  For more information on global warming’s effect on cold water fish go here.

The heating of the globe will have catastrophic consequences for humans and the other species that inhabit this earth if nothing is done to change our fossil fuel consumption patterns. Some effects already seen today include, more intense storms (link to “hurricanes and GW PDF fact sheet”) because of warmer ocean waters, loss of substantial amounts of glacier and snow cover at the Polar Regions resulting in sea level rise, ecosystem change as a result of drought and climate changes, and alterations of life history events in organisms.  To read more about current impacts go to the EPA impact site.

Arkansas Impacts
The National Wildlife Federation has created an Arkansas Specific fact sheet that talks about many of the specific consequences wildlife and humans face, as a result of global warming. Solutions for Arkansans are addressed as well.

Central to life for humanity, wildlife, plants and insects, etc is water.  Of all the current conservation issues facing the Arkansas Wildlife Federation, the Governor, the state legislature, and of course, the citizens of Arkansas is the preservation of water quality and the development and establishment of a state water plan. Arkansas must begin immediately to protect water resources from pollution and misuse by counties, cities, local communities, land developers, manufacturers and others. Throughout this section on “Current Issues” that discusses significant environmental issues that impact  wildlife, wildlife habitat, clean air, healthy forest and our environment, water is central to every issue such as: Grand Prairie, Arkansas River, Corps Reform, Extraordinary Resource Waters, water pollution from the construction of the coal-fired generating plant in Hempstead County,  pollution of the Ouachita River from the insertion of the pipeline, and the most dangerous and damaging impact on Arkansas water resources – natural gas drilling.

Hydraulic fracturing is a common technique used to stimulate the production of natural gas. Typically, fluids are injected underground at high pressures, the formations fracture, and the natural gas flows more freely out of the formation. Some of the injected fluids remain trapped underground. A number of these fluids, such as diesel fuel, qualify as hazardous materials and carcinogens, and are toxic enough to contaminate groundwater resources. There are a number of cases in the U.S. where hydraulic fracturing is the prime suspect in incidences of impaired or polluted drinking water. In Alabama, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, incidents have been recorded in which residents have reported changes in water quality or quantity following fracturing operations of gas wells near their homes. Such cases are now being reported in Boone County, Arkansas. Despite the widespread use of the practice, and the risks hydraulic fracturing poses to human health and safe drinking water supplies, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) does not regulate the injection of fracturing fluids under the Safe Drinking Water Act. The oil and gas industry is the only industry in America that is allowed by EPA to inject known hazardous materials – unchecked — directly into or adjacent to underground drinking water supplies. In our state, it is estimated from the first 1000 natural gas wells drilled in Arkansas, over four (4) billions gallons of these gas well fluids have been dumped on surface lands. To gain the enormity of this potential environmental nightmare, the natural gas industry has projected they will drill over 10,000 natural gas wells in the state. In Arkansas, the vast majority of these toxic fluids are trucked off site and dumped on surface lands. ADEQ has information records of where these dump sites are located. Thus, Arkansas has limited protection of water quality or water resources from the Environmental Protection Agency, ADEQ, Arkansas Department of Pollution Control and Ecology and now AGFC which recently leased 11,500 acres of the Petti Jean and Gulf Mountain Wildlife Management Areas for a $29.5 million payoff and 20% percent of the royalties.

You can not discuss any environmental issues without discussing their impact on Arkansas’ water quality and resources. Throughout its 172 years history, Arkansas has been fortunate to have abundant water resources with over 9000 miles of streams with 17 river waterways, at least 12 or more lakes, and numerous creeks too many to count. Arkansas is known for its water abundance which attracts millions of visitors annually who contribute over $5 billion dollars to the state economy and generate over 65000 jobs in the tourism industry. Arkansas is well known as a hunting and fishing paradise that attracts over one million hunters and anglers who spend at least $1 billion in Arkansas. Arkansas can not afford to endanger its most important natural resource – abundant water quality and quantity.

At this time, Arkansas does not have a comprehensive state water plan that promotes and protects this abundant natural resource. There are different state agencies such as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas Pollution Control and Ecology Commission and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality who have developed components of a state water plan, but do not represent a comprehensive state water plan. The Arkansas Wildlife Federation is urging Governor Mike Beebe to create a “Governor’s Commission on Developing a Comprehensive Water Plan” similar to the “Governor’s Commission on Global Warming.” AWF will work with other conservation groups and organizations, Governor Mike Beebe and the state legislature to promote this legislation for the 2009 Arkansas Legislative session. The Arkansas Wildlife Federation is committed to the preservation and protection of water quality and establishing a comprehensive state water plan. Water resources are the very substance of life and critical for present and future generation.