By Steve Eddington
Public Relations Department
Arkansas Farm Bureau

In his book “The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference,” Malcolm Gladwell shines a light on what seem to be minor events that actually change the outcome of a particular situation.

His theory is that a simple idea can reach a “tipping point” — a crossroads, a moment of truth, a turning point — then quickly become widely accepted. But only if that idea is remarkable enough, its timing is right, and the right mix of people champion it.

The “tipping point” that ultimately calms the chaotic waters of the current Illinois River controversy may well be a simple gathering last year that has become the Illinois River Watershed Partnership.

The Illinois River, which flows into Oklahoma from Northwest Arkansas’ Benton and Washington counties, long has been the subject of a political tug-o-war over water quality.

Until creation of the partnership, everyone seemed to be struggling uphill and without focus.

Then, the partnership brought people with differing backgrounds, agendas and divergent opinions together on one team and empowered them to work on a watershed-management plan.

The idea behind the partnership certainly seems dramatic. With water-quality lawsuits flying back and forth across the Oklahoma-Arkansas border, the watershed group cannot have arisen at a more critical time. In addition, its makeup — a rare example of birds of a different feather flocking together — is a combination of individuals who know doing the right thing is a worthy objective.

“I truly believe we’ve reached a ‘tipping point’ as it relates to the Illinois River watershed,” says Luanne Diffin. She is environmental services coordinator for the Rogers Water Utilities and president of the partnership.

“The simple-but-significant fact that we have so many passionate individuals admitting that we have a collective problem — but who are firmly committed to solving that problem — proves to me that we’re past our tipping point and on the way to a successful solution for the Illinois River.”

The partnership’s board includes representatives of almost every area the water-quality issue affects: city and county government, business, agriculture, conservation, landholders, etc. So far, its hybrid vigor has helped the group gel in a way rarely seen.

“It would be difficult to overstate the importance of our organizational diversity,” said Mike Faupel, who represents Arkansas Sierra Club’s Ozark Headwaters Group, an active environmental organization.

“Every watershed planning guide stresses the importance of bringing together as many viewpoints as possible and making sure all voices are heard and have the opportunity to be involved in the planning process.

“We have achieved this right out of the starting gate. As far as I can tell, this is the only group in which the Sierra Club is involved in the entire country that has this level of stakeholder diversity.”

A rarity, but very pleasing to those involved.

“There’s no doubt the agencies and companies that have come together to form the partnership make for strange bedfellows,” Diffin says, “but it’s the individuals within the group who are the real change makers. They see the need to work together, collaborate and come to a consensus on action.

“We are all part of the problem and must all take responsibility to be part of the solution.”

The head of Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport, Scott Van Laningham, agrees. Also vice chairman of the Northwest Arkansas Council, a regional economic development and leadership organization, he says, “I leave those meetings excited about these different groups bringing different perspectives to the issues and all working toward a common goal.”

He says cooperation is the key.

“It doesn’t do any good for one group to take two steps forward if the other groups each take one step backward.”

Some dismiss the partnership as “too little, too late.” Not so, says Mark Simmons of Simmons Foods of Siloam Springs. His is one of the 10 largest privately held poultry processors in the nation, employing 3,800-plus in Arkansas, Missouri and Oklahoma.

“You can always wish that the ‘good idea’ was adopted earlier, but better now than never!” he says. “This (partnership) is one of the most positive developments for the watershed that I have ever seen.

“It is positive, not divisive; solutions-minded, not accusatory.”

Their focus on the common good has led the Illinois watershed partners to ignore perceived boundaries. Additionally, it aligns farmers with environmentalists, puts college professors hand-in-hand with environmental professionals, and spurs municipal planners to explore solutions with construction industry executives.

Bev Saunders, a poultry grower from Colcord, Okla., west of the Arkansas border, and a member of the Poultry Partners consortium, is convinced the partnership’s objectives ensure a successful result.

“It’s because all the people on the board are on the same page,” she says, “and we have vowed to work together to make a positive difference. There is so much respect for each other on the board. I believe everyone will make an effort to make sure this balance of interests continues.”

Larry Seward is a professor of biology and environmental science at John Brown University in Siloam Springs. He understands the balance the group must maintain to have an impact.

“I am very optimistic that the partnership will hold together (and succeed), because we cannot afford to not achieve the agreed-upon goals.

“As members of the board, we hope the idea of a partnership will spread to other areas and problems around the state.”

Van Laningham admits one challenge confronting the group is nomenclature.

“One of the difficulties is making sure we are talking to each other and not past one another,” he says. “Certain disciplines have a tendency to speak their own language, so it’s important that we all make sure we understand the lingo. I think it’s especially good that every group represented learns what the other groups are doing.

“I learned in our very first meeting about the best-management practices that the farmers have been using for some time. But the farmers’ best-management practices can be offset, for example, by local homeowners using too much fertilizer on their lawns.

“We’ve all got to be better educated about the watershed and the impact our actions can have on it.”

Improving its water quality will take agreement from everyone living in the Illinois River watershed, partnership board members say. Everyone affects water quality one way or another, whether through storm runoff, pasture erosion, fertilizer use or development and construction practices used to support Northwest Arkansas’ ever-expanding population.

That’s why an extensive public education campaign for the area is being planned, and why the partnership will hire an executive director to orchestrate it. Some of the organization’s other objectives for the watershed are reinforcing best-management practices, water-quality monitoring and ecosystem restoration.

The partnership’s creation laid groundwork critical to the success of any public education efforts.

“The credibility of this group will help make its community outreach efforts successful. (Public) knowledge is power and in this case, it will provide folks with the power to change for the better,” Saunders says. “Because I am a poultry producer and our industry has been blamed for so much of the pollution problem, I was a bit hesitant when I first heard of this organization.

“But this group is looking at all areas of the problem, and not pointing fingers.”

Like others, Tim Snell, conservation programs director for The Nature Conservancy and on the partnership board, is impressed with the cooperative nature of the watershed partners. However, he knows challenges lie ahead.

“The people who came together have lots to do already, so getting the time to tackle the issues is the hardest part. I believe, though, when other areas see the success of this group and think of their own group doing as well, they can be inspired.

“The quality of the river, the watershed and the lives of the people living there will determine the success of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership.”

Bill Haak, dairy farmer and president of Benton County Farm Bureau, is the partnership vice president. He, too, is pleasantly surprised with the willingness of the partnership’s board members to understand all sides of the discussion.

What I really like is the fact that they are a very tenacious group,” he says. “They are here for the long run. They understand the problems with the Illinois River watershed did not happen overnight, and the problems aren’t going to be solved overnight, either.

“This is a group that will endure and I am proud to be a part of it.”

As administrator for the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission for 28 years, Ed Fite has seen face-to-face the discord between Oklahoma and Arkansas over water-quality issues.

“For so long, we in Oklahoma have tried to effectively claim the Illinois River,” he says. “And we were quick to claim that Arkansas wasn’t doing its part in keeping it clean.

“Honestly, though, if I was delegated all the authority the state of Oklahoma could give me, I could not begin to affect long-term water quality issues in the Illinois River without some partnership with Arkansas.

“So, kudos, kudos, kudos to what Luanne Diffin and (the Illinois River Watershed Partnership) are trying to do. They are being proactive, and I welcome their effort. It’s an important group that is up and running at a grass-roots level.

“I have contributed my personal funds so that I could send a signal that what they are doing has validity and is important toward the overall success of the Illinois River.”

Apparently, the crisis surrounding the Illinois River has reached a tipping point.

“We are at a pivotal decision point,” Diffin says. “The partnership members have come together to take action to protect the Illinois River; its current and future water quality and quantity. And we are committed to taking action now, while it is economically feasible.

“We’ve brought together an incredible group of people to work on this. I can only imagine that the diversity of the partnership is unprecedented — and it’s obvious we are all committed to success.”

All that remains now is for the collaborative work undertaken by the Illinois River Watershed Partnership to spread to become a widely accepted practice, the obvious outcome of any good “tipping point.”

Interested in membership in the Illinois River Watershed Partnership? Contact Karen McSpadden, board secretary, at karenmcspadden@cox.net.

Illinois River Watershed Partnership
objectives/purposes:

• Increase public awareness of the Illinois River

• Cooperate with the scientific community to identify water-quality impacts, causes and sources

• Educate the public about its contribution

• Collaboratively identify environmentally viable and economically feasible practices

• Work to implement water-quality improvement and watershed restoration projects

Illinois River Watershed Partnership Vision Statement

The Illinois River and its tributaries will be a fully functioning ecosystem where public and private best-management practices support diverse aquatic communities, meet all state and federal water-quality standards, promote economic sustainability and provide natural recreational opportunities within the Illinois River watershed.