Wasson donates Flint Creek property to land trust

— Seven acres of land along the Flint Creek in Springtown have been donated to the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust to preserve them from future development and to ensure that a portion of the Flint Creek remains protected, according to a Jan. 3 post on the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust website.

"Thanks to a generous donation from conservation-minded landowner, Mr. John Wasson, seven acres of pristine habitat along Flint Creek in Springtown, Arkansas, have been protected forever as our newest Preserve. The property and surrounding parcels have belonged in Mr. Wasson's family for generations. He recalls learning to swim in the cool deep pools and jumping from limestone outcroppings that border the stream," the website states.

According to the site, Wasson, who lives in California but owns land and has family roots in Springtown, "donated the property to the land trust to ensure that it was forever protected and made available to residents of and visitors to Springtown for many more generations to come."

The land trust will, according to the web post, develop a plan which will allow public access for "quiet pedestrian and educational" use. It says additional land may be added to the preserve in the future.

"The property includes a wooded riparian buffer along spring-fed Flint Creek, which is a tributary of the Illinois River," the website states, further explaining the benefit of riparian buffers to protect water quality by preventing streambank erosion and to provide habitat to a variety of native plants and animals.

The web post says that "a cave on the Preserve has been documented by The Nature Conservancy with a small population of Ozark cave fish, a species that is listed as federally threatened." It says the land trust "will be working with TNC and other local and state experts to further document, monitor and protect this and other species of unique plants and animals on the Preserve."

The post said the property ranks high in the Open Space Plan for Benton and Washington Counties because it preserves natural land and habitat for native species of plants and animals.

The web article says additional monetary donations were received from Wasson and the Walton Family Foundation to be used for the ongoing care of the Preserve.

Wasson had attempted to have his land, along with the land of four other land owners, annexed into Springtown in 2015 but the council failed to approve the measure.

According to the July 22, 2015, issue of the Eagle Observer, "John Wasson, longtime UCLA professor of Los Angeles, Calif., and formerly of the community of Springtown, one of the five land owners, said he wanted to annex his land into Springtown because of his love and concern for Flint Creek. Wasson was the only petitioner who would not have become a permanent resident of Springtown if the petition was approved, though he does own a house in the town."

"I want to preserve the beauty of Flint Creek," Wasson told the Eagle Observer, explaining that he thought annexing his land would help preserve the pristine beauty of the creek and prevent a developer from coming in someday and building a housing development and golf course along the creek.

Wasson said he also worked together with other property owners along the creek to petition for annexation with the preservation of Springtown's history and the beauty of Flint Creek in mind.

Though the annexation plan failed, Wasson has found another way to protect at least a portion of Flint Creek in Springtown for future generations.

General News on 01/11/2017