OZARK SOCIETY MAKES DONATION TO CITY LIBRARY

The Mississippi Valley Chapter of the Ozark Society of Cape Girardeau recently donated a videotape to the Cape Girardeau Public Library entitled "Buffalo River -- A National Treasure."

"Buffalo River" discusses the river and how it was saved. In 1962, the Ozark Society, founded by Dr. Neil Compton, was formed to rescue the Buffalo River from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who were planning to build a dam to create power on the river. After 10 years, the society successfully stopped the Corps and as a result, the Buffalo River became the first "national river" in 1972.

The videotape currently is being used by various libraries and schools as an educational tool to help communicate how to help the environment.

Not a large group, the Ozark Society consists of four associations in Arkansas, two in Missouri, one in Oklahoma and one in Louisiana.

The members also help to maintain a portion of the Ozark Hiking Trail twice a year and have helped stop dams on the Eleven Point and Meramec rivers and continue to help protect scenic rivers, natural areas and wilderness on public lands.

Previously, the society donated a book entitled "The Battle for the Buffalo River." It remains one of the most detailed accounts of a national conservation issue, the preservation of a free-flowing stream. It is frequently requested as required reading in college conservation courses as one of the best examples of a grassroots movement.