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Cave Springs, Illinois River Watershed Partnership Combine Efforts (Winner, Main Street Preservation | Under 5,000)

3 min read

Two independent entities with differing goals found a common bond among the eddies and currents of the Illinois River.

The city of Cave Springs — looking for ways to grow its population and local businesses — joined forces with the Illinois River Watershed Partnership — whose pillars are education, preservation and conservation — to form a mutually beneficial relationship.

The joint effort by the city and the partnership to preserve, enhance and build upon a historic, local resource won Cave Springs top honors as a 2015 City of Distinction in the Main Street Preservation category for cities with a population under 5,000.

Founded and incorporated in 1910, the city, once known as Cannon, was renamed for the two springs originating from caves within city limits.

The spring-fed Illinois River has its headwaters in Hogeye and is fed by many tributaries as it meanders across the Arkansas-Oklahoma line, where it becomes a nationally recognized scenic river system. But a map revealed Cave Springs, located in Benton County, as a central location which the partnership, established in 2005, saw as ideal for the educational facility it wanted to build.

“This group works quickly, because they are motivated by the cause that they serve,” said the partnership’s education and outreach coordinator Chas McCoy.

Cave Springs’ school-age children attend classes in the nearby Rogers and Bentonville districts, while the city’s positioning — with the University of Arkansas and Fayetteville to the south, a regional airport to the west and a major interstate to the east — offers a strategic point of access.

Cave Springs was seeking not only to reinvigorate its downtown area while preserving its hometown heritage, but also to use its location and “green” policies and programs to connect with the larger cities.

In other words, the city leadership has stated, Cave Springs wants to develop a community that the community wants, and the watershed partnership offered the means to help do just that.

The partnership purchased a building on Main Street and acquired nearby land that contained Lake Keith, since renamed Partners Lake.

Renovation of the building as well as the addition of raised flower beds, vegetable gardens and a collection barrel that holds and filters rainwater offered the educational, practical use elements the partnership sought with the bonus of beautifying the area for the city.

Further improvements included a pavilion at the lake, mosquito and pollution control efforts and progress toward turning the lake location into a public facility for fishing, boating and other outdoor activities.

The combined efforts of the city and the partnership breathed life into community functions like a local farmers market and the creation of festivals that will include “Cave Springs Days,” “Bats and Bluegrass” and “COPS, Kids and Catfish.”

With their interests so intertwined, Cave Springs benefits from the refreshed community interaction while the Illinois River Watershed Partnership benefits from a rooted presence and a profile within the city. Together the city and partnership have created a cultural experience in northwest Arkansas.

The value of Cave Springs’ efforts doesn’t stop with the partnership. The city leadership that includes Mayor Travis Lee and Vice Mayor Charlie Holyfield, wants to preserve the hometown “Americana” feel of Cave Springs and is working with the Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission to acquire land and develop connecting trails that would link the city to the Greenway that already links other communities in the area.

The city is also looking into a cemetery preservation grant.

Cave Springs and the partnership are separate entities that work independent of each other in their day-to-day operations, but there is no doubt the relationship has been mutually beneficial. The centralized location of the city and its small-town America charm, combined with the education, preservation and conservation efforts of the Illinois River Watershed Partnership that have led to the numerous beautification projects are creating a unique experience in the region.

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