The Upper White River Basin
History

Alarmed by the problem of decreasing water quality along the upper White River, ten insightful, respected and visionary business and civic leaders in Missouri and Arkansas established the Upper White River Basin Foundation in 2001. These citizen conservationists, inspired by an innate commitment toward environmental stewardship and a love of Ozark waters, developed a proposal to substantially improve the waters in the upper White River watershed.

In 2003 the Foundation was awarded one of the first Targeted Watershed Grants from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Targeted Watershed program is a community-based approach to restore, preserve and protect watersheds in the United States by utilizing science-driven practices.



Annual Report

Last summer the Foundation's board of trustees and staff spent time reviewing the organization's mission, accomplishments and priorities. The mission of the Foundation,

To promote water quality in the upper White River basin watershed thorough bi-state collaboration on research, public policy and action projects in Arkansas and Missouri

was renewed, and a new set of essential priorities emerged to guide the Foundaton's actions in the coming year. The Foundation diligently worked to accomplish these priorities and along the way, forged new partnerships, explored both new and old ideas and created more dynamic programs. Priorities identified last year include:

• Monitor and report on water quality in the basin.
• Serve as an advocate on policy issues which affect water quality and watersheds through regulatory and legislative means.
• Emphasize public information, education, promotion and communication about water quality issues.
• Support, encourage and capitalize on allied watershed groups working for common purpose.
• Seek long-term funding support for the Foundation and water quality work in the basin region.

A full summary of the Foundation's activities is included in the 2007 Annual Report here.