Thought we needed a post on the Buffalo river

[fishinwrench]

3 minutes ago, BilletHead said:

   I'm sure you have hot sticked a 34 KV line off a pole also

Nooo!   only phone and cable TV for me. 

Never played with Electric service. Not on purpose anyway.  Before I started aerial construction I worked underground, and hit a mis-located service line to a shopping mall with a R40 Ditch Witch.   That SOB went off like a bomb!  Taught me a valuable lesson ....whenever the trenching gets amazingly easy all of a sudden, it's TIME TO STOP and investigate!!!!     I grabbed my stuff and immediately went home, assuming that an immediate firing was coming my way.    Turned out the locate was 14' off so "luckily" (I guess) I was spared the reprimand.   

 

[ColdWaterFshr]

Floated the Buffalo multiple times.  It is, without peer, the best the Midwest has to offer.  Good video and lots of cool shots but much seems to be drone footage, which I thought were illegal in NPS?

Hike Angel's Landing in Zion NP if you really want to test the shrink factor on your tackle.

[slabseeker]

No as far as climbing poles I could never do that for sure. I watched a squirrel have a bad experience with that once at the top of one. 

Good video thanks for sharing. I got to visit the Buffalo a few years ago but no one in our group would float with me. Absolutely beautiful.

I always wanted to hike the trail to that cliff and stand on it now not so sure..🤔

[bfishn]

There's been a fair amount of local buzz about the Buffalo recently. A group headed by the Walton boys and the governor's hubby is pushing to change the designation of the Buffalo River from a national river to a park preserve. Speculation on their motive(s) include the fact they recently bought a few thousand acres in the Kingston area, the unofficial 'gateway' to the river. If effective, the change would purportedly take river administration from the Park Service and give it to the state. Since it will literally take an act of congress to effect, it's not likely to happen in the near future, but will be interesting to watch it play out.

[Flysmallie]

3 hours ago, bfishn said:

Since it will literally take an act of congress to effect, it's not likely to happen in the near future, but will be interesting to watch it play out.

 

Don't be too sure. Those idiots in Washington would set it all on fire for the right amount of money. 

[tjm]

Doesn't have to be a separate act of congress either, add it onto any other bill that is sure to be passed as an amendment.  It'll be passed and signed before the public even hears about it.  Trade that  for a vote to build a bridge or a highway in some other state. Everybody shares the pork.

[Al Agnew]

Definitely a lot of questions about the group that is suggesting the change.  My understanding is that the park and preserve idea would not turn it over to the state, but would give it a different designation.  National Preserves USUALLY have fewer restrictions than National Parks or the Buffalo National River now, and speculation is that they are pushing the preserve idea to be able to develop lands along the river.  But they are being coy about what their goals actually are, and just saying that they want to start a dialogue or some bureaucrat speak like that.  To me, at best it's a solution in search of a problem.  The Buffalo is being run pretty well right now as it is, as well as can be expected with the limited funding that politicians in Washington see fit to allocate to it.  But given the makeup of the group pushing this, you can bet there is a whole lot of money to be made somewhere in the mix.

[Al Agnew]

On 10/19/2023 at 5:18 AM, jdmidwest said:

Why do people want to stand out on a ledge like that?  That weathered fractured rock under them.

There have probably been a million people standing on that ledge (the millennials call it Hawksbill Crag, but the Ozarker name is Whittaker Point) in the last 30 years or so, and it hasn't crumbled yet.  I've stood upon it a couple times.  It's pretty large and wide.  But I guess at some point somebody could be the unlucky one.

[Terrierman]

I've never been a pole climber but have been up my share of water towers and standpipes.  Going up and down didn't bother me that much but being outside on top of a tower or standpipe was not my idea of pleasant except for the view.  One time long ago my best friend and I floated from Rush to Norfork.  Still one of the most memorable trips ever.  Lost a frying pan in Clabber.  Nearly lost the boat at Buffalo City when we got out for a walk while we didn't know the White was on the way up.  Came back from the walk to see the boat doing lazy circles in an eddy about 100 yards downstream.  Luck was with us then.  The Buffalo is magic, just magic.

[Quillback]

On 10/20/2023 at 9:03 AM, bfishn said:

There's been a fair amount of local buzz about the Buffalo recently. A group headed by the Walton boys and the governor's hubby is pushing to change the designation of the Buffalo River from a national river to a park preserve. Speculation on their motive(s) include the fact they recently bought a few thousand acres in the Kingston area, the unofficial 'gateway' to the river. If effective, the change would purportedly take river administration from the Park Service and give it to the state. Since it will literally take an act of congress to effect, it's not likely to happen in the near future, but will be interesting to watch it play out.

Here's a link to an article about the designation change.  I don't see where the state would manage it as it would be designated a National Park.

Rebranding the Buffalo National River | Arkansas Outside