Arkansas Trails Symposium and Wetland Tour 3/19 and 3/20

[DeBo]

The Maddox Bay float trip has been moved to March 26. On March 19 there will be a Trails Symposium at Clarendon and a paddling trip on March 20 to Bayou Deview. We are meeting at Apple Lake in the WMA between Duvalls Bluff and Brinkley at 10am. This trip is open to members of the public with their own boats.
The Symposium is free and we will have lots of speakers telling us about exciting things happening in the Delta.
Please come! If you can't make the Symposium on Saturday come and paddle on Sunday. It will be beautiful! The water is high and there will be no portages.

See below for more details.

Arkansas Trails Symposium to be Held in Clarendon, Arkansas March 18-20
MARCH 4, 2016 – The Arkansas Trails Council is honored to be hosting the 2016 Arkansas Trails Symposium on March 18-20 in Clarendon. This year's symposium has another notable lineup of speakers. All are scheduled to present on Saturday. On Sunday, there will be a paddle through the flooded forest of Bayou DeView on one of the most spectacular water trails in the state. Free camping in town alongside the White River will be available Friday and Saturday nights. This event is free, so come out and enjoy a great weekend in Clarendon on the White River learning about and exploring Arkansas trails.

The featured speakers will present on Saturday, March 19. They include:

Porter Briggs, board member and vice president of Friends of the Historic White River Bridge at Clarendon, who will discuss the status of the scenic bridge as a possible bicycle-pedestrian trail; the efforts of his group, Clarendon and the region to become an adventure-tourism destination; and the re-visioning of the Delta region.
Sam Correro, motocross rider and creator of the Trans-America Trail (TAT), a dirt road route across the country, which goes through Arkansas (including the town of Clarendon), who will speak about the creation of the TAT.
Lizzy East of The Nature Conservancy, who will discuss on the history of the Cache River channelization, the fight to stop it and the effort to restore the river. (This river stretch connects the Bayou DeView Water Trail with Clarendon and may possibly become a water trail itself.)
Terry Eastin, Big River Strategic Initiative, LLC, executive director and board member of Mississippi River Trail, Inc., who will present about the development of the Mississippi River Trail (which has much going on right now, including: the Delta Heritage Trail, the levee trail from Marianna to West Memphis, the Harahan Bridge over the Mississippi River and more).
John Ruskey, founder of the Quapaw Canoe Company and author of "Rivergator: Paddler's Guide to the Lower Mississippi River," who is to speak about the Mississippi River as a water trail.
Keith Weaver, Cache River National Wildlife Refuge Project Manager, who will speak about the refuge.
On Sunday, March 20, there will be a paddle down the Bayou DeView Water Trail. For those in Clarendon, there will be a caravan to the take out at the Apple Lake Access. If you are coming just for the paddling trip, please meet at 10 a.m. at the Apple Lake Access, which is just off of Highway 70 to the north about 6 miles west of Brinkley and about 11 miles east of DeValls Bluff. After leaving vehicles at the take out, the caravan will travel to the put-in, where we will launch for the float. Please bring your own boat if you have one. There will be boats, however, for those who don't. Please also bring your own food and water. The trip will end at 4 p.m.

The Arkansas Trails Council provides a unifying voice for the trails community across Arkansas. It brings together people and resources with an interest in the development, expansion, use, and maintenance of trails in Arkansas. It provides a public forum for members of the trails community and serves as an organized voice for trails advocacy within the state. The ATC promotes trails awareness, trail usage, and trail education within the population in general, and it serves as a proactive advocate for development and use of trails in Arkansas. It is concerned with trails regardless of user group (i.e., foot trails, bicycle trails, equestrian trails, water trails, off road vehicle trails, or multi-purpose trails) or primary purpose (i.e., recreation, health/exercise, watchable wildlife, history). For additional information, visit the ATC website at: http://www.ArkansasTrailsCouncil.com.

CONTACT: Michael Sprague, Grants Analyst, Arkansas State Parks, 501-682-6946.


Arkansas Trails Symposium

Friday, March 18
Camping at the campgrounds on the White River just south of the bridges in Clarendon, Arkansas.

Saturday, March 19
Clarendon, Arkansas Visitor Center
9:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m.
2016 Arkansas Trails Symposium Opening and Welcome
9:45 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Keith Weaver: Project Manager of Cache River National Wildlife Refuge
10:45 a.m.-11:30 a.m.
Lizzy East: Field Activities Coordinator of The Nature Conservancy
11:45 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Porter Briggs: Board Member & Vice President of Friends of the Historic White River Bridge at Clarendon
12:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m.
Lunch with Awards Ceremony and Break Time
2:45 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Sam Correro: Motocross Rider & Creator of the Trans-America Trail
3:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Terry Eastin: Executive Director of Big River Strategic Initiative, LLC., & Board Member of Mississippi River Trail, Inc.
4:45 p.m.-5:30 p.m.
John Ruskey: Founder of Quapaw Canoe Company, & Author of "Rivergator: Paddler's Guide to the Lower Mississippi River"


Sunday, March 20
10:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
Paddle on the Bayou DeView Water Trail.
Meet at Apple Lake Access off of Highway 70, about six miles west of Brinkley and 11 miles east of DeValls Bluff.

[lalyle]

Thanks for the update, Debo!

I'll have to miss Sunday's outing as I'll be bustin' a few tunes for Palm Sunday, but Saturday the 26th at Maddox Bay should work out.

BTW, you'd better put "The Club" on your Subaru as Thia lusts after them mightily.