Like the River, the Ouachita Riverkeeper encompasses two states; Arkansas and Louisiana. Beginning in the Ouachita Mountains of Arkansas, the Ouachita River flows to join the Tensas and Little Rivers of Louisiana to form the Black River, which then flows into the Red River. By working in both states, we can utilize an extensive network of advocates and monitor the Ouachita River for its full length of 650 miles. The people who live, hunt, fish, and use the river for recreation are very passionate about cleaning up the river and protecting it from further abuse. The Louisiana Environmental Action Network and the "Save the Ouachita" organization of Arkansas collaborated recently and so far have been successful in stopping a proposed pipeline in El Dorado, Arkansas.

 

Due to our extensive grassroots outreach, the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality received over 3,000 comments; a record that overwhelmed the agency. The pipeline would have dumped over 20 million gallons per day of treated sewage and chemicals into the river. It was from the success of this venture that the idea of forming the Ouachita Riverkeeper was born. Being a Riverkeeper gives us the tool by which we can combine and coordinate our efforts and become more effective in advocating for our river.