Town Branch Watershed set of photos growing with shots of wetland clearing for Advance auto-part store
The Advance Auto Parts store construction site between South School Avenue and Locust Avenue and between Seventh Street and approximately the right of way of an unbuilt portion of Eighth Street in south Fayetteville, Arkansas, is a very small project that didn't require City Council approval and that, despite the best intentions of the planning and engineering staff and park staff and water and sewer staff and others in marking trees for protection and general planning, is a major violation of the spirit and intention of our stormwater- and tree-protection regulations.
This land only a week ago was almost identical to the part of Aspen Ridge across the Town Branch north of Don Hoodenpyle's yard and west of Robert Williams' yard as it existed in 2003:
Pre-Aspen Ridge east-side swamp willows on ground similar to pre-Advance Auto wetland willow grove
In this case, digging the ditch between trees slated for protection has negated the tree-protection promises and the city's much-improved intention to protect the watershed. The Aspen Ridge wetland was cleared, dredged and filled with no attempt to protect any part of it, and the FEMA map reportedly didn't show that it was in the flood plain, although all the neighbors knew it did.
As in the case of Aspen Ridge, this wetland area is being destroyed. Tons of black, absorbent soil in that small wetland area are being dug out and hauled 8 miles south and deposited on the Greenland Security farm. The hole where it is being removed appears to be approaching 10 feet deep just behind the houses that are being torn down for the new auto-part store (100 yards south of an existing part store). That sort of soil is what makes World Peace Wetland Prairie special and that is the type of soil that was removed from much of the Aspen Ridge site or buried under non-absorbent, rocky dirt where few species of vegetation can grow. It is one of the aspects that made Northwest Arkansas paradise to the settlers.
Maybe a small part of the lot near S. Locust will be preserved as vegetated wetland but nothing is sure when big machines are operating. I hope all people with concern for Fayetteville's environment can visit while this stage of work is going on. The late florist Ray Adams owned this property and built and for years lived in the stone house that is being dismantled now.
It must have been a special pleasure for a florist to have a wetland such as that for a back yard because of the endless array of native flowering plants that grew so fast in that kind of setting. We have to be grateful for people who protect such places during their lifetime. I doubt he ever imagined that his grove of willows would be removed and that so much rich earth would be dredged out and hauled away.
In addition to the several photos on
http://aubreyshepherd.blogspot.com
there is a growing batch of related photos at
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7295307@N02
Some photos will also appear on
http://fayettevillecitygovernment.blogspot.com
http://northwestarkansasenvironmentcentral.blogspot.com
http://townbranchneighborhood.blogspot.com
Posts
1 comment:
If you are suggesting that Ray woudn't have been happy with this use of his prized piece of land, you are right. He planted flowers all over this area, both sides of 71, and he dug wildflowers along the creek and cultivated them. My son sometimes went along to help, and Ray was a good friend,
Post a Comment