Stakeholder Discussion at AWRC Conference Identifies Water Priorities
The Arkansas Water Resources Conference was held July 18-20, 2023, at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences in Fayetteville, Ark. During the last session, attendees discussed state priorities for water resources management.
The audience had the chance to provide recommendations to facilitators about their water resources priorities for Arkansas.
“It was super important we learn from participants what’s working and what’s not. We had two great days on the science, successes and challenges in water resources management. We used this last day’s structured conversation to get new ideas and understand individual organizational priorities,” Leif Kindberg, Executive Director of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership, said.
Around 150 attendees rotated through five tables, each with a different topic.
“The idea of the discussions was to help all of us prioritize things we should be working on, reinforce what’s been successful and coordinate future investments in water resources management,” Kindberg said.
Becky Roark, Executive Director of the Beaver Watershed Alliance, led the discussion on watershed management technologies and best management practices.
Chandler Barton, Division Forester for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture – Forestry Division, led discussion on workforce development. The group discussed how to build and improve technical capacity and expertise.
Tate Wentz, Water Quality Division Manager for the Arkansas Department of Agriculture – Natural Resources Division, led the third roundtable on mobilizing funding. The discussion focused on innovative financing, success stories, and public and private funding opportunities.
Dr. Brian Haggard, Director of the Arkansas Water Resources Center, led the fourth discussion on water quality monitoring and research. The group discussed research gaps and approaches to fill those gaps.
At the last roundtable, Joy Wasson, Coordinator of the Arkansas Forests and Drinking Water Collaborative, led a brainstorming session on what priorities and topics were missing from the discussion at the other tables.
A summary of the five roundtable discussions is available to view:
Image courtesy of Beaver Watershed Alliance
