Watershed leader urges update to Buffalo River management plan, flags permit notice gaps

Gordon Watkins, president of the Buffalo River Watershed Alliance, told the Senate Committee on Children and Youth on Sept. 9 in Jasper that the Buffalo River management plan has not been updated since the 1980s and urged the committee to support revisions.

Watkins also raised concerns about "Regulation 5," saying the rule’s current implementation lacks sufficient transparency and public notice for permits that authorize liquid animal waste discharges as posted on the Department of Agriculture website. The transcript records Watkins making the assertion; it does not include a verbatim quote and does not specify whether that Department of Agriculture reference is to a federal or state agency.

The remarks came during a short committee meeting convened at 10:00 a.m. at Carroll Electric Co‑Op, where Senators Bryan King (chair) and Clint Penzo were listed as present along with Representatives Harlan Breaux and Ron McNair. No motions or votes on the management plan or Regulation 5 were recorded; the meeting adjourned at 11:15 a.m.

The presentation linked the need to update the decades‑old plan to concerns about how permitting for animal‑waste discharges is communicated to the public, a procedural issue Watkins said affects outdoor recreation and river stewardship. The transcript does not record responses from agency staff or committee members to Watkins’s concerns, and it does not identify any next steps or requests for staff follow‑up.

The committee minutes list an exhibit (B3) and note that refreshments were available to attendees.