The Watershed Management Plans for the Illinois River in Oklahoma and Arkansas are Getting an Update.
“The Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC) and the Arkansas Natural Resources Division (ANRD) are working collaboratively to host a series of stakeholder meetings that will guide the update of the Illinois River Watershed management plan for the next decade,” said Shanon Phillips, OCC Water Quality Division Director.
Learn more about the process and progress here.
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Third Public Meeting Held August 10, 2023
The third public meeting was held in West Siloam Springs with a large and diverse group of stakeholders from around the region. This meeting focused on preliminary results from the Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model and included discussion on nutrients, streambank erosion, land use, and other considerations. Here are the key documents from the meeting:
Summary of Third Stakeholder Meeting
FTN SWAT Summary and Results Presentation
OCC Model Calibration Presentation
A video recording from the meeting is available below.
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Second Public Meeting Held May 18, 2023
The second public meeting was held in May with a total of 91 individuals attending the meeting, 81 in person and 10 online. the purpose of this meeting was to collect input from the stakeholders present about practices that can reduce nonpoint source pollution in the Illinois River watershed. Stakeholders were invited to participate in one of two break-out groups: one focused on practices for rural areas, and the other focused on practices for developed areas (i.e., urban areas). A summary of the meeting is available.
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First Public Meeting for Illinois River Watershed Management Plan Held October 11, 2022
The Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Division (NRD), in partnership with the Oklahoma Conservation Commission (OCC), held the first in a series of public meetings to update the watershed-based management plan for the Illinois River watershed. Watch a recording of the 1st meeting below or read the summary from the meeting here.
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We Need Your Input
We need your input in guiding the update of the Illinois River watershed management plans in Arkansas and Oklahoma that will be in place for the next decade. Please attend one or more of the upcoming stakeholder meetings to ensure these plans address nonpoint source needs throughout the Illinois River watershed. The next stakeholder meeting will be posted on our calendar.
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Stay Updated on The Plan
There will be several more opportunities for you to provide input on the plans. If you have suggestions, questions or comments, send us an email or call the office directly.
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Current Watershed Management Plans
See the Illinois River watershed management plans for Arkansas and Oklahoma.
Tentative Meeting Outline
Here are the general themes and plans for stakeholder meetings. Please join us at one of the upcoming meetings.
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Read a summary from the 1st public stakeholder meeting here.
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May’s meeting will focus on engaging stakeholders on conservation practices that have been successful, those that are underutilized and why, and what hasn’t worked and why in both rural and urban areas of the watershed. It will take place 2:30-4:30 pm at Cherokee Hotel & Casino West Siloam Springs, Saco Salon Meeting Room, 2416 US-412, West Siloam Springs, OK 74338
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This meeting focused on Soil & Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model output and linking conservation practices discussed in meeting two to water quality improvements. A summary of the meeting is linked on the main page.
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The fourth meeting is expected to take place in May. Topics will be selected at a later date and we will post updates here as further information becomes available.
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The topics and date for the fifth stakeholder meeting will be determined at at later day.
“The two states’ holistic approach to update the plan in unison will better align nonpoint source needs across the entire watershed.”
