Arkansas Administrative Code

15 CAR § 320-1205. Notification to the Governor. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall notify the Governor of its intent at least thirty (30) days before the acquisition of land or interest in land shall become effective, and this notification shall be in writing.

15 CAR § 320-1206. Final approval. (a)(1) A written report will be required by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission for consideration of final approval for acquisition of land or interests in land. (2) The report shall include the following information: (A) A map delineating …

15 CAR § 320-1301. Articles of dedication — Authority. (a)(1) Dedication is defined as the creation of a scenic, conservation, or environmental easement to be vested in and legally enforceable by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. (2) Arkansas Code § 15-20-312(a). (3) Dedi…

15 CAR § 320-1302. Intent, procedure, and execution. (a)(1) The strongest protection the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission can give to land is that bestowed through the process of dedication. (2) When the commission itself acquires land for the purpose of placing it in the sys…

15 CAR § 320-1303. Recording. (a) Articles of dedication shall be: (1) In writing; (2) Under seal; and (3) Acknowledged. (b) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall cause the articles to be recorded by the recorder of deeds in each county wherein any portion of the propert…

15 CAR § 320-1304. Effect of dedication. Interests in land created by dedication shall be perpetual and may not be altered, changed, or modified (Arkansas Code § 15-20-314(a)) unless specific conditions given in 15 CAR § 320-1306 below are met.

15 CAR § 320-1305. Naming system areas. (a) Naming areas in the system of natural areas shall be the responsibility of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission. (b) The name of each natural area shall be determined at the time of dedication.

15 CAR § 320-1306. Removing land from the system. (a) Under extreme circumstances, lands dedicated into the system of natural areas may be removed from it. (b) The procedure for doing so is as follows: (1)(A) First, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission must find, after public…

15 CAR § 320-1401. Stewardship of the system of natural areas — Authority. (a)(1) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall establish and, from time to time, amend such policies and rules for the selection, acquisition, management, protection, and use of the system of natura…

15 CAR § 320-1402. Plans and records. (a) Records shall be kept for each natural area. (b)(1) A management plan shall be developed for each property within the system of natural areas. (2) The management plan shall set forth in detail the purpose, character, resources, management…

15 CAR § 320-1403. General rules. (a) Within the system of natural areas, there shall be no intrusions of structure, easements, rights of way, or land use that do not conform to the management plan. (b) Defacement, destruction, or removal of signs, gates, fences, barricades, and …

15 CAR § 320-1404. Enforcement and penalties. (a)(1) Any person violating any of the rules promulgated by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall upon conviction be fined not less than twenty-five dollars ($25.00) nor more than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) or imprisone…

15 CAR § 320-1501. Property acquired for purposes other than the system of natural areas generally. (a)(1) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission may acquire an interest in real property less than fee for purposes other than entry in the system of natural areas, including envir…

15 CAR § 320-1502. Wetland conservation easements. (a) Purpose. (1) In recognition of the high degree of interrelation between individual parcels of land in wetland ecosystems, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission administers a program for acquiring wetland conservation easem…

15 CAR § 320-1503. Other single-purpose easements. (a) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission acquires access easements, whenever necessary, to connect lands purchased for other purposes to nearby public roads and to use for developing parking facilities. (b) The commission has…

15 CAR § 320-1504. Leases. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission purchases leases on property that it deems to have sufficient conservation value if: (1) The property is not for sale; and (2) A perpetual easement cannot be acquired.

15 CAR § 320-1505. Buffer lands. (a) Where appropriate, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission acquires land not in a natural condition to serve as buffer for protection of adjacent land acquired for the system. (b) Arkansas Code § 15-20-310(a)(7).

15 CAR § 320-1506. Procedure for approval. The approval process for acquiring such interests in land is the same as that outlined for natural areas in 15 CAR §§ 320-1204 and 320-1205, and hereof.

15 CAR § 320-1601. Stewardship of property acquired for purposes other than the system of natural areas — Authority. (a) Wetlands conservation easements, riparian easements, and leases all require periodic monitoring for compliance with the terms under which the Arkansas Natural …

15 CAR § 320-1602. Plans and records. (a) Records shall be kept for each location/property. (b) Monitoring of each property will be conducted periodically and reports will be maintained by the staff of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission.

15 CAR § 320-1701. Registry of Natural Areas — Authority. (a)(1) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission maintains a registry or inventory of lands and waters in the state, whether publicly or privately owned, that retain their primeval character to a substantial degree or that …

15 CAR § 320-1702. Limitations. (a) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall have no regulatory jurisdiction over lands or interests not actually acquired for the system of natural areas. (b) Arkansas Code § 15-20-308(6).

15 CAR § 320-1703. Procedure. (a) At the meeting held October 13, 2000, the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission defined that the Registry of Natural Areas would consist of the list of special species and their locations that is contained in the inventory of information maintaine…

15 CAR § 320-1801. Designation of a river — Entry into the Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers System — Authority. Arkansas Code § 15-23-311 establishes procedures that the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall follow to submit a river to the General Assembly for designation …

15 CAR § 320-1802. Classification. (a) Following is the classification and evaluation system for determining the priority of rivers to be considered for inclusion in the Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers System: (1) “Natural river” means those rivers or sections thereof that are…

15 CAR § 320-1803. Procedures for designation. (a)(1) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall decide, based upon the classification and evaluation system, the priority of rivers for inclusion in the Arkansas Natural and Scenic Rivers System. (2) Arkansas Code § 15-23-311(1…

15 CAR § 320-1804. River Designation Advisory Committee. (a) Members. (1) Three (3) members from the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission appointed by the Chair of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission to represent the state at large. (2) Five (5) members who are residents of …

15 CAR § 320-1805. Natural and scenic river management plan. (a) Approval. (1)(A) The management plan developed by the River Designation Advisory Committee shall be submitted to the quorum court of each county through which the river flows. (B) If the court fails to take action w…

15 CAR § 320-1806. Monitoring. Periodic assessments for compliance with the classification criteria for inclusion in the Arkansas System of Natural and Scenic Rivers will be accomplished by: (1) Site visits (with landowner approval); and (2) Information maintained in the inventor…

15 CAR § 320-1901. Collaboration — Authority. (a) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall have the right, power, and duty to cooperate and contract with any: (1) Federal, state, or local government agency; (2) Private organization; or (3) Individual. (b) Arkansas Code § 15…

15 CAR § 320-1902. Procedure. (a) Cooperative agreements (system of natural areas). (1) The staff of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission may propose cooperative agreements for the conservation and stewardship of properties included in the system of natural areas. (2) Each pr…

15 CAR § 320-2001. Amendment of rules generally. (a) This part may be amended at any regular meeting of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission by affirmative vote of eight (8) members of the commission provided that the amendment has been submitted in writing to all members of …

15 CAR § 320-201. Duties — Authority. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall have the following rights, powers, and duties (Arkansas Code §§ 15-20-308, 15-20-309, 15-20-312, 15-20-317, and 15-23-308): (1) Choose lands, waters, and interests therein to be acquired for incl…

15 CAR § 320-202. Compliance with statutes. All procedures and all actions taken by the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission will conform with the: (1) Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act, Arkansas Code § 25-15-201 et seq.; and (2) Arkansas Freedom of Information Act of 1967, A…

15 CAR § 320-301. Public information and education — Authority. (a)(1) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission is empowered to publish and disseminate information and recommendations pertaining to natural areas and to the system of natural areas. (2) Arkansas Code § 15-20-308(7)…

15 CAR § 320-302. Annual report. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall: (1) Publish an annual report on or before December 1 of each year; and (2) Make the publication available in a digital format suitable for accessing through the internet.…

15 CAR § 320-303. Access to information. (a) Information about the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and its activities is provided to anyone requesting it. (b)(1) The commission will make available a description of its organization, the general course and methods of operation…

15 CAR § 320-401. Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission members. The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall consist of fifteen (15) members (Arkansas Code § 15-20-305), as follows.

15 CAR § 320-402. Members appointed by the Governor. (a) Nine (9) members appointed by the Governor from persons with an interest in the preservation of natural areas, with two (2) members appointed from each congressional district and one (1) member appointed from the state at l…

15 CAR § 320-403. Terms of members appointed by the Governor. (a) Members appointed by the Governor shall serve: (1) Terms of nine (9) years; and (2) Until their successors have been appointed and qualified. (b) When an appointment is made to fill a member vacancy, the appointmen…

15 CAR § 320-404. Other members. (a) Three (3) members shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives to serve at the pleasure of the Speaker of the House of Representatives. (b) Three (3) members shall be appointed by the President Pro Tempore of the Senate to…

15 CAR § 320-405. Compensation. (a) Members of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall serve without compensation, except that they may receive expense reimbursement and stipends in accordance with Arkansas Code § 25-16-901 et seq. (b)(1) The commission may vote at its fir…

15 CAR § 320-406. Attendance. (a)(1) A member appointed by the Governor who shall be absent from three (3) successive regular meetings without attending any intermediary called special meetings shall be subject to removal in the event he or she fails to present to the Governor a …

15 CAR § 320-407. Code of ethics. (a) All members of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall comply with the Arkansas code of ethics law, Arkansas Code § 21-8-301 et seq. (b) No commission member shall use his or her position on the commission to secure special privileges …

15 CAR § 320-501. Officers and duties. (a)(1) The officers of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall be a: (A) Chair of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission; (B) Vice Chair of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission; and (C) Secretary of the Arkansas Natural Heritage…

15 CAR § 320-502. Terms of office. (a) Officers shall: (1) Be elected once a year at the first meeting after January 14; and (2) Serve for a period of one (1) year or until their successors are elected. (b) Officers may be elected to succeed themselves.…

15 CAR § 320-601. Meetings generally. All meetings of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission and of its committees shall: (1) Be open to the public except as noted in Arkansas Code § 25-17-208; and (2) In all other respects comply with the Freedom of Information Act of 1967, Ar…

15 CAR § 320-602. Regular meetings. (a) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall meet in regular session on a date set by the commission at least once during each quarterly period and shall meet in special session as often as the commission’s business may require, pursuant …

15 CAR § 320-603. Special called meetings. (a) The Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission shall meet on call of the Chair of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission or upon request of three (3) or more members of the commission, such call to be filed with the Secretary of the Arka…

15 CAR § 320-604. Emergency voting. (a)(1) When timing of a decision is critical, the Chair of the Arkansas Natural Heritage Commission or acting chair may arrange a telephone conference call for the purpose of taking a vote, provided that the public and the news media are advise…