Advancing the next generation report card for the Arkansas River and Red River Basins
On September 11-14, Heath Kelsey and Vanessa Vargas-Nguyen, along with Kim Lutz of America’s Watershed Initiative, traveled to Oklahoma City to facilitate a stakeholder workshop addressing inland navigation, flow management, and flood control in the Arkansas-Red River Basin. It saw participation from stakeholders from diverse backgrounds and resulted in a shared vision for creating a sustainable, equitable, and resilient system. Key priorities that emerged from the workshop included data and communication, holistic management, ecological flows, natural systems, infrastructure, water quality, and funding. Proposed actions included advocating for funding, promoting coordination, educating the public, developing consensus-based solutions, and investing in climate adaptation. The workshop will act as a model for the advancement of the Mississippi River Watershed Report Card, focusing on specific goal areas and sub-basins, and generating an actionable plan that stakeholders can adopt.