Meeting in the Ozark Mountains of Northwest Arkansas

In October, 2000, the IUSSI-NAS meeting will take place at the Ozark Natural Science Center (ONSC), located in the Arkansas Ozarks about halfway between Eureka Springs and Huntsville.  ONSC, a non-profit educational organization founded in 1990, is located in northeast Madison County and is situated on 486 acres of land.  The Center owns 89 acres, and the remaining 397 acres are leased to the Center for its use and management by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. ONSC is surrounded by the 15,000-acre Madison County Wildlife Management Area.

Geology and Geography

The Ozark Mountain region, an area of approximately 48,000 square miles, includes parts of Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma.  The Ozark Dome is an igneous mass centered in southeastern Missouri and extending into Northern Arkansas beneath a cover of sedimentary rocks.  The principal exposed sedimentary layers are Ordovician limestone and dolomite, Pennsylvanian sandstone, and Pennsylvanian and Ordovician shales.  In northern Arkansas, the region is characterized by flat-topped mountains, narrow ridges with steep-sided valleys, and clear, spring-fed streams.  Elevation ranges from 250 to 2,450 feet (76 to 747 m) above sea level.  Karst features such a springs, sinkholes, and caves are common in the Springfied Plateau of northwestern Arkansas and abundant in the Salem Plateau of north-central Arkansas.  This region has been above sea level since the Pennsylvanian period, more than 300 million years ago.  Climate is temperate, with average annual precipitation ranging from 38 to 48 inches and mean annual air temperature ranging from 56 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  Soils are primarily residual and weathered.  Vegetation is primarily upland hardwood forests of white oak, red oak, and hickory.  By 1930 Arkansas forests were in devastated condition due to heavy overcutting.  Today, over half the state remains in forest.  As of 1995, hardwood type forest plus hardwood-pine mixed forest where hardwoods predominate made up 73 percent of the total forest area. An additional 17 percent was in naturally seeded pine; only 10 percent were in pure pine plantations.  The state has lost some wildlife since the early days. Buffalo, elk, the passenger pigeon are gone. But wild turkey, beaver, otter, eastern black bear and deer have recovered from near extinction early in this century. And deer, coyote, gray fox, muskrat, possum, raccoon and wild turkey are thriving.

"Arkansas possesses an incredible diversity of plant and animal life inside its borders.  This rich diversity is the result of a varied physiography and topography, a sufficiently long geological history of favorable climates and habitats, periods when the area was isolated from and reconnected with other areas of North America, and the fact that Arkansas was not affected by Pleistocene glaciation during the last one million years....  The Interior Highlands (primarily the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains)...have long been recognized as an area of endemism for both plants and animals.  As many as three hundred species are known to be endemic to this region of the central United States....  The preliminary data indicate that the Interior Highlands, including north and west Arkansas, provided a safe haven for many forms during geological epochs when most of the rest of the continent was not available for habitation.  During these times of isolation many forms evolved into new species."  (Robison, H. W., and R. T. Allen.  1995.  Only in Arkansas. The University of Arkansas Press, Fayetteville).

Population in the Ozarks was about 2.3 million people in 1990 and increased 28 percent between 1970 and 1990, with growth predominately being in northwestern Arkansas and southwestern Missouri. Springfield, Missouri, the largest city in the region, had a population of about 140,000 in 1990.  Joplin, Missouri, and Fayetteville, Rogers, and Springdale, Arkansas, are also centers of significant population.  Poultry farming is a major industry in the southwestern Ozarks.  Large concentrations of poultry operations are located in northeastern Oklahoma, northwestern Arkansas, and southwestern Missouri.  Lead-zinc mining has been an important part of the local economy in the past.

Attractions

The Ozark Mountain Region is a popular vacation destination, yet due to its vast expanse it remains uncrowded and unspoiled. The incredible variety of year-around recreational opportunities includes fishing, caving, rafting, hiking, and camping (Ozark Caving, Ozark Day Hikes). War Eagle Cavern is located on Highway 12 between Rogers and Eureka Springs. Onyx Cave is located 3 miles east of Eureka Springs on Highway 62.  A trail from the cave leads to Cedar Creek Valley overlook and picnic area. Mystic Caverns is located in Dogpatch, 8 miles south of Harrison and 5 miles north of the Buffalo National River - about a 90-minute drive east of Eureka Springs along US 62 to US 65 to Arkansas Route 7 south.  Fall foliage color in the Ozarks is spectacular, rivalling the red and sugar maples of Vermont and the Northeast (Ozark Mountain Region, Ozark Mountains Website, Ozark Fall Foliage).

Withrow Srpings State Park, located just down Route 23 from ONSC, features springs emerging from a shallow cave and fromi a strem that feed the scenic War Eagle River.  A swimming pool, conoe rentals tennis courts and other facilities are available.

Buffalo National River encompasses 135 miles of the 150-mile-long river and totals approximately 95,700 acres.  The Buffalo became the first national river in 1972, when Congress declared that it is to be maintained as a free-flowing stream with no impoundments.  Attractions include floating, fishing, and above all, spectacular wilderness scenery with waterfalls, caves, and high bluffs.  The Buffalo River trail at Boxley is a moderate to difficult, 36-mile-long trail along the upstream section of the park.  Scenery includes rocky bluffs, waterfalls, farmsteads, hollows, and panoramic river an valley views.  Boxley is about a 1 1/2-hour drive southwest of ONSC, via SR 23 to SR 74 (south of Huntsville) to SR 21 South at Kingston.  The Boxley trailhead is located at the intersection of SR 21 and SR 43.  The Tyler Bend Visitor Center, the main visitor center for the park, is located eleven miles north of Marshall, Arkansas. The park has two other visitor contact stations; the Pruitt Ranger Station, located five miles north of Jasper, Arkansas on Highway 7, and Buffalo Point Ranger Station, located 17 miles south of Yellville, Arkansas, on Highway 14. (Buffalo National River,  National Park Service).

The Victorian vacation village of Eureka Springs, located on Route 23 about 11 miles north of the intersection with Route 12, and about a 20 minute drive from the ONSC meeting site, offers dining, shopping, spa treatments, art galleries, shows, attractions, fishing and water sports.  This historic village is also home to many motels and hotels.  However, during the period of the IUSSI-NAS meeting, the 10th Annual Eureka Springs Corvette Weekend will be underway, and a shortage of rooms can be expected.  If you wish to make arrangements for accommodations in Eureka Springs, please plan early! (Eureka Springs Advertising & Promotion Commission, Eureka Springs Tourist Center, Eureka Springs Chamber of Commerce.)