Park hosts monthly program
“Living Healthy in Nature,” a free monthly program of the Schmieding Center for Senior Health and Education and Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area, will be held at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the park visitor center.
This month’s topic is finding small details in everyday life and will include a brain focus activity.
The programs are at 10 a.m. the first Thursday of each month at the park and offer healthy living and nature activities such as hiking, birding, meditation and other guided classes.
No reservations are needed. For more information contact Jay Schneider, assistant park superintendent, jay.schneider@arkansas.gov or (479) 789-5000.
Hike at Bella Vista, Buffalo
Hill ‘N Dale Hiking Club will hike Friday along the Sick-A-More and Down Under trails in Bella Vista. This is a 6-mile out and back hike.
The group will hike March 9 on the Hedges Homestead Trail in the Buffalo River area. This can be either a 4.8 mile out and back route or the return hike can be a bushwhack along the river making it a loop hike. This bushwhack is a little shorter route but involves some difficult boulder scrambling and climbing through a couple of ravines.
Interested hikers may contact Bev Munstermann, (479) 721-2193 or munster@olemac.net for information. Go to bvhikingclub.com for club information.
Banquet benefits Trout Unlimited
The Arkansas chapter of Trout Unlimited will hold its 37th annual conservation and fundraising banquet at 5:30 p.m Friday at the Fayetteville Town Center.
The event will include dinner at 6:30 p.m., live auctions, silent auctions and prize drawings for an array of fishing and outdoor gear. Money raised enables the chapter to hold youth programs, Beaver tailwater cleanups, habitat improvements and fishing line recycling.
Tickets are $55 for a single ticket, $95 for a couple and $20 for youths 16 and under. A table for four is $350. A table for eight is $600.
Visit https://events.eventgroove.com/event/37th-annual-conservation-fundraising-banquet-72203 to register.
See fly fishing worldwide
The 2023 International Fly Fishing Film Festival is Saturday at Meteor Guitar Gallery in downtown Bentonville. Doors open at 6 p.m. The film presentations begin at 7 p.m. featuring 10 short and feature-length films from locations around the world.
For information about this screening along with advance tickets information, contact the host, rr.albrecht@gmail.com for details.
Event aids wild turkey programs
Benton County Longbeards chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will host its annual banquet Saturday at the Benton County Fairgrounds. The event benefits conservation and education programs of the federation.
The event includes dinner, live auctions, silent auctions and prize drawings. For more information contact Chris Hinkle, (620) 215-0033.
Help pull invasive species
Beaver Watershed Alliance will hold three events to remove invasive plants at area parks.
On Sunday, removal will be from 2 to 4 p.m. along Saddle Up Trail at Kessler Mountain Park in Fayetteville. Plant removal at Mount Sequoyah in Fayetteville, along the hard-surface trail to the pavilion, will be from 2 to 5 p.m. March 9. Lake Atalanta in Rogers will be the site from 1 to 3 p.m. April 16 from Clark Pavilion to Railyard bike park.
To volunteer contact the alliance, info@beaverwatershedalliance.org or (479) 750 8007.
Effort spruces up park
A volunteer work day will be from 9 a.m. to noon on March 11 at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area.
Help is needed to spruce up landscaping around the visitor center and do maintenance on the park’s trails. Lunch will be served and there will be drawings for prizes.
Sign up to help before March 9 by contacting Avery Blair, volunteer coordinator, avery.blair@arkansas.gov or call (479) 789-5009.
See birds at Shores Lake
Northwest Arkansas Audubon Society will host a field trip to Shores Lake in the Ozark National Forest at 9 a.m. March 18. Meet at at the Shores Lake picnic area entrance on the west side of the lake.
This area features mature short-leaf pine habitat that’s the best place in the region to find the brown-headed nuthatch. Birders will also keep an eye out for red crossbills, which have been seen in this area. An optional afternoon trip will be to Frog Bayou Wildlife Management area near Alma.
Anyone interested in birds is welcome. Audubon membership is not required. For for information contact Taylor Long, mtaylorlong@hey.com or (479) 530-9084.
Lake experts talk fishing
A free program on fishing for black bass, crappie, walleye and striped bass at Beaver Lake is set for 2 p.m. March 19 at Hobbs State Park-Conservation Area visitor center east of Rogers.
Four accomplished Beaver Lake anglers will give brief presentations on their specialty species, then the one-hour program will open up for questions from the audience. Payton and Tiffany Usrey of Springdale will offer tips for catching crappie. Nick Frakes, a leading bass tournament angler, will talk black bass fishing. Jon Conklin, a fishing guide from Goshen, will give tips for catching walleye and striped bass.
