Smith Creek Photo Field Day

April 10 Smith Creek Photo Field Day. The $25 event is also a fund raiser for the Preserve. For additional information, visit smithcreekpreserve.com.

Springtime at Smith Creek Preserve is wild flower season. Wild flower season begins the middle of March and peaks roughly from about mid-April. Smith Creek is as good a wildflower venue as exists in Arkansas, easily on par with Lost Valley, and better in some respects.

Smith Creek Preserve is a project of the Nature Conservancy located in the upper Buffalo River area just south of Boxley Valley and east of the Upper Wilderness . The 1,226 preserve was created in 2005 to protect Arkansas' largest Indiana Bat population, and the remarkable natural resources of the pristine area. Visit the preserve website for more information.

Smith Creek itself offers many water attractions with falls, flows and cascades. The peak wildflower season usually with the highest water flow in the creek, so spring is prime time in Smith Creek.

Photo copyright buffaloriverphotography.com.

Marble Falls Spill Halted


Officials stopped the Marble Falls spill in early February. Natural processes have flushed the river and it has returned to normal. Visitors to Buffalo National River have no reason for concern.

Earlier this year, there was a lot of coverage in a few news cycles about the sewage spill at Marble Falls. This spill impacted the Buffalo National River downstream from Highway 7 only about 7 miles, after that point, the impact was so diluted it could not be detected.

Upstream areas including the Ozark Campground, Erbie Campground, Ponca Wilderness, Kyles Landing, Steel Creek, Lost Valley, Boxley Valley, Upper Buffalo Wilderness, the Hailstone (the uppermost Buffalo National River) and all of the legendary attractions and spectacular hiking trails were never affected by the spill.

The spill had little impact in terms of the entire downstream Buffalo National River, and the small impact it had is now cleared. The winter flow of the Buffalo has been strong this year and has sped the natural process of flushing out the river.

Thanks to the many public officials who have worked on this problem. They continue now to work on a permanent fix, but the danger of the spill happening again is over.