Aspen Ridge plans outlined in Arkansas Democrat-Gazette story linked below

PLEASE CLICK ON PHOTO TO ENLARGE
Phase two of the Aspen Ridge project is in the background (north) behind the row of pine trees.
Brooks Bayou is one of the few printable names applied by neighbors to the strip of land dug through the property of Pinnacle Foods (the current owners of the old Campbell Soup facility) for a new portion of Brooks Avenue to reach south to a new outlet to 12th Street and from there east to South Duncan Avenue.
Contractors stopped working on the extension of Brooks Avenue in July 2006. Erosion of dirt from the top of a storm sewer is visible along the right edge of the photo and native wetland plants have grown up in the street bed, which was holding water on Saturday Nov. 17, 2007, despite several weeks with no measurable precipitation.
The Pinnacle Prairie, a name lovingly applied to the wetland between World Peace Wetland Prairie about 200 feet to the east of the photo (out of photo to the right) and Rochier Hill to the northwest (far left in photo), is an extraordinarily rare wetland area with seep springs that support numerous species of native tall grass, Illinois bundle grass, button bushes such as seen in Lake Conway, milkweed that supports many species of pollinators but especially the caterpillars of the monarch butterfly as well as the fall generation of monarchs that migrate from New England and Canada all the way to Mexico, plus such striking plants as the rattlesnake master in years when the Pinnacle Prairie is not mowed frequently.
After two summers of not being mowed, the eastern 2 acres of Pinnacle Prairie, which shares a boundary with World Peace Wetland Prairie, has brought forth magnificent specimens of these and other important native wetland prairie plants.
The problem with the extension of Brooks as it is now configured is that water is prevented from flowing underground and on the surface from the west and northwest across Pinnacle Prairie to support native vegetation to the east. For the health of WPWP and of the portion of Pinnacle Prairie at right in the photo, a series of small culverts must be constructed across the street bed to allow the water to flow where it always did in the past and where it is still needed. No more water is needed to flow and potentially flood the outlet from Pinnacle Prairie to the Town Branch. Far too many pieces of property already are at risk of flooding downstream as a result of the filling of wetland upstream along the Town Branch.
The future

Aspen Ridge sale
still on city radar.

Clearwing moth nectars at thistle on World Peace Wetland Prairie

At 9:30 a.m. it appears that only two of us are at the usual monthly workday at World Peace Wetland Prairie. It is a perfect day, so we'll be spending time out there. We knew several said they couldn't make it, but being quiet makes the area especially nice.

Actually, the term "workday" may be a put off for some potential visitors to Fayetteville's 2.46-acre nature park at 1121 S. Duncan Ave. Working isn't required on workdays. This is a great day to walk slowly and watch the butterflies, skipper moths, clear-wing moths and other pollinators at work. Friday, the birds and butterflies were active around 10 a.m. and that may be the approximate starting time for a "feeding period" such as fishermen try to notice on the lakes and hunters note during their seasons. The creatures were relatively still and quiet at 8 a.m.

So come on out and just walk through and enjoy. If we do get rain, there will be a burst of new blooms over the coming few days and a return visit after the rain would give a person an idea of the potential of such places.

UPDDATE: Rain started about 11 a.m. and things are already perking up.