Many people move to Arkansas, the Natural State, for the sheer beauty and recreational opportunities available.

According to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, there are more than 90,000 miles of streams in Arkansas – “from the mighty Arkansas River to small creeks you can jump across.”

What some don’t realize, however, is that the quality of these natural waterways has been deteriorating, thanks to “damming, industrial and agricultural pollution, and other activities.”

Arkansas Game and Fish has taken steps to halt this decline, in the form of the Stream Habitat Program, which consists of three prongs: education, advocacy, and stewardship.

HSV Audubon will welcome Matthew Irvin, West Central Arkansas Stream Habitat coordinator for Arkansas Game and Fish, to discuss the history and future of this program – “what we do and why we do it.”

Coronado Center auditorium on MARCH 9 at 10 a.m.

THE SPEAKER

Matthew Irvin has a B.S. in wildlife conservation and has 10 years of wildlife management experience and more than 12 years of streambank stabilization, aquatic habitat improvement, barrier removal, and water quality education experience. He covers roughly a quarter of the state and has conducted projects on many rivers and streams in the Ouachita Mountains, Ozark Mountains, and Arkansas River Valley ecoregions.