Northwest Arkansas nature center groundbreaking held

Nov. 8, 2017

Keith Stephens

Chief of Communications

Amid a clear blue sky and unseasonably warm temperatures, the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission broke ground last week on the planned Northwest Arkansas nature center. The ceremony was held on the 61-acre site along Spring Creek in Springdale.

The facility will focus on the northwest region of the state and is expected to take about three years to complete. Land for the facility was donated by the City of Springdale.

The Arkansas Game and Fish Foundation is leading a fundraising campaign to help offset costs of construction. Johnelle Hunt has kicked off the fundraising by pledging $5 million to the project.

Proposed facility highlights include 36,000 square feet of improvements, including a state-of-the-art educational building, indoor and outdoor classrooms, education pavilions, traditional and 3-D archery ranges, watchable-wildlife walking trails, wildlife habitat areas, a creek boardwalk and overlook, native plant gardens, wildlife-viewing blinds, and many other conservation education and outdoor recreation amenities.