A Natural Asset for Arkansas
Buck Island and the
Lower Mississippi River Fishing & Boating Trail
Radio feature:
Buck Island may help Delta town
Listen nowCourtesy WKNO FM
Video feature:
Exploring the Mississippi River
Courtesy KATV-Channel 7
The Lower Mississippi River begins at the confluence with the Ohio River at Cairo, Illinois and extends 954 river miles to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the "Lower Miss" are many stretches where world class nature tourism potential awaits.
Many of the Lower River's Delta towns and counties could greatly benefit from a chain of publicly-owned wilderness islands and primitive campgrounds. Tourism trends show that a growing number of boaters, anglers, canoeists, birders, hikers, and campers are seeking unique destinations. However, almost all of the islands and land along the river banks are privately owned by hunting clubs or timber companies.
ALC has purchased Buck Island, a 1,500-acre forested island located near Helena, Arkansas, and is seeking funding in order to convey the island to a local, state, or federal agency. Buck Island is an ideal, user-friendly wilderness destination, with five miles of year-round hiking trails and large white sand beaches during lower water stages, typical from July through February. In public ownership, Buck Island can become the location for the growing number of people who wish to experience America' s Greatest River.
A real "Mark Twain" Experience
Just 3 minutes by motorboat from the public boat ramp in Helena, Arkansas and two miles south of the St. Francis National Forest, Buck Island offers the rare taste of outdoor adventure immortalized by Mark Twain in his tales of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. The island's natural setting offers something for any outdoors enthusiast:
- High-quality, low-maintenance hiking trails wind five miles through a 1,000-acre hardwood forest.
- Huge sand bars covering over 500 acres for most of the year are a haven for bird-watching, camping, picnics, fossil hunting, and outdoor photography.
- Wildlife watching includes sightings of deer, turkey, beaver, squirrel, opossum, rabbit, raccoon, bats, frogs, and turtles.
- Three miles of Mississippi River frontage and three miles of side channel water offer great fishing for catfish and white bass.
- Opportunities to explore the area by boat, kayak or canoe can be ideal at nearly every river water level.
Bringing the Mississippi River Fishing & Boating Trail to Arkansas
ALC's vision, along with our partner, the Lower Mississippi River Conservation Committee, is to establish a Mississippi River Fishing and Boating Trail from St. Louis, Missouri down to Baton Rouge, Louisiana that will eventually become a national tourist destination as renowned as the Appalachian Trail or the Grand Canyon.
The river trail already exists upriver featuring a series of public boat ramps and protected natural areas in public ownership totaling 25,000 acres. Buck Island would help establish the trail in Arkansas, linking Helena to the Choctaw Island Wildlife Management Area at Arkansas City 106 miles down river.
This new trail segment would connect the Mississippi to the famed White and Arkansas rivers, whose confluences with the Mississippi occur between Helena and Arkansas City. In the end, a new, nationally significant recreation complex for boaters, canoeists, kayakers, birders, wildlife watchers, and nature lovers would be created.
Regional Revitalization and Economic Development
The Fishing and Boating Trail can jump-start a regional revitalization by drawing recreational river users to the Delta. With each site added to the trail, there will be new opportunities for local businesses to provide food, gas, bait, tackle, canoe and kayak rentals, and boat rides to a new influx of tourists.
A U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service economic impact study for eastern Arkansas estimates that public ownership of Buck Island would help create 364 jobs, $8,662,900 in job income, $18,408,000 in retail expenditures, $23,622,100 in economic output, $994,100 in local tax revenue, and $1,691,700 in federal tax revenue based on anticipated increases in sport fishing and wildlife watching. For Helena and the Delta region, a natural asset like Buck Island can make a world of difference.
Help ALC make this vision a reality. Join us as a member or make a donation today!
Take a trip to Buck Island with our friends at Quapaw Canoe Company. Visit their website and learn more at www.island63.com.
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