Lake Conway Point Remove Watershed Alliance Meeting

02/26
Grace Kellner

Last night I attended the Lake Conway Point Remove Watershed Alliance (now their official name) meeting. The meeting was not what I expected. I thought The organization was already established and I was just attending a meeting to go over what had been accomplished over the past month and what was on the agenda for the next month. This was instead, a group of citizens from the Conway area, guided by people from Metroplan and the University of Arkansas in the organizational process of forming an official group.

We got some background information on the 9-element plan which is what UA is instructed to create for this watershed. Everyone at the meeting then split into four groups and discussed concerns and goals for Lake Conway for the next 15 years. The major concerns voiced by every group included improving  the recreational area, addressing sewage and pollution, improving water quality, reducing sedimentation, establishing sustainable fisheries, and getting more of the public involved in the improvement of Lake Conway.

As a new organization that was not named until the end of the meeting, we also discussed mission statements and bylaws, which are necessary for the group to grow. There was some confusion among the members about how to get people from Russellville and Dardanelle involved when they are not at these organizational meetings, but I think the issue is one of a lack of communication. The drive is only 45 minutes to an hour and people in that area would likely have no problem making the drive to Conway for meetings once a month. However, to get people from other areas involved it is easier to have a strong foundation. The foundation comes from the mission statement and the bylaws which give the group an identity.

We drafted words and phrases that we wanted to see in the goal portion of the mission statement these were: restore, enhance, natural resources, collaborative, integrity. To achieve this group members said they wanted to work towards developing education programs, policies, water monitoring, and action projects to address present and future issues.

At the very end of the meeting, a handful of local people volunteered to be part of a committee that would work to create the final mission statement and draft the bylaws. The bylaws will include the group structure. So, they could have a steering committee and a TAC like the White Oak Bayou does, but then they have to decide how many people will be on those committees and if they will be from different areas like business, agriculture, education, etc.

While this was not a meeting I expected to participate in, I enjoyed it and thought it was pretty fascinating to watch the beginning formation of a group that could make a big difference in this community and surrounding areas within the watershed.