Ozark Isle started out as a Corp of Engineers campground within Bull Shoals Lake in northern Arkansas. It was originally the top of a mountain that was made somewhat inaccessible, when it became surrounded by water, due to the dam across the White River, that led to the formation of Bull Shoals Lake. For this reason, a "causeway" was constructed by the Corp of Engineers that would connect the isolated island, the short distance that would link it to the "mainland". A photo of the causeway is shown below, that also shows the locked gate that keeps unauthorized vehicles off of the island. Locals have known for years that the locked gate did not mean they were forbidden from walking on the island, but most visitors would not know this, since there are no signs indicating pedestrians are allowed.
Many people, especially those who live in the Oakland area, have continued to use the island as a place to walk, bicycle, and view wildlife, especially birding enthusiasts. Photo below shows Mary Beth Piorkowski (Ozark Isle Nature Preserve 501c3) and Roy Stovall (North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists), who led a walk, open to the public, that occurred at Ozark Isle, on January 1, 2024. Shortly after January 1, 2024, the Corps approved a plan submitted by the two nonprofit organizations they represent, to restore Ozark Isle as a day-use park, for hikers, bicyclists, dog walkers, birders, and paddlers. It is called OZARK ISLE NATURE PRESERVE, and you can see photos of the progress they are making on this project on the Facebook (www.facebook.com) page, under the same name.
Photo below shows the group that enjoyed this "FIRST DAY 2024 HIKE". I had no trouble getting in my 10,000 steps on this outing, because Ozark Isle consists of 462 acres! There is no drinking water source on the island, so each person carried the fluids they would need for the day.
This photo shows Roy Stovall, who heads up the Trail Patrol, for the North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists. When Mary Beth talked to the Corp of Engineers administrative staff in Mountain Home, Arkansas, they told her they might consider her idea, but she would need to partner with a group like the Arkansas Master Naturalists, who are set up to do the volunteer trail work and trail maintenance, that such a project would involve. Hence, she contacted Roy. Roy gave a presentation to our Master Naturalist group, who endorsed the idea as a worthwhile project.
The "bump" you can see in the distance, in this photo I took while on Ozark Isle, is called Bull Mountain, located in the town on Bull Shoals, Arkansas. The tower that is visible on top of the mountains, used to be a tourist attraction, which I climbed decades ago with my family. It is no longer open to the public, but rather, is used as an elevated location for communication devices
Although you cannot tell it from the thick layer of leaves, there is actually a paved road that these folks are walking on.
Besides paved roads, there are also some gravel roads on the island. Notice the lady in the blue coat on the left is carrying a white bag. That is because most members of our Master Naturalist group always have a bag with them when hiking, so we can pick up any litter that we find along the way. If you are not doing this already, please do so!
On a chilly January 1 hike, there is a reduced risk of having one of those pesky ticks attach to your body! However, as the weather in the Ozarks warms up, the risk of getting ticks and/or chiggers increases. But, now, with the walkways on Ozarks Isle to be maintained by volunteers, one will be able to stroll on cleared and paved walkways in the summer, reducing the exposure to the itch-causing little critters!
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These concrete picnic tables have withstood decades of exposure to the weather, and now their future is looking brighter, as they will be a pleasant rest area in the newly named Ozark Isle Nature Preserve.
The playground on Ozark Isle is still in tact, and some of our group took a quick swish down the tan slide.
The photo below shows the bathroom facility that was in use, at the time the Corps of Engineers closed the park to camping, in 2004.
The photo below shows what was probably one of the original rest room buildings that was built on the isle by the Corps. I remember this style of bathroom, from when I first started visiting Corps of Engineer parks on Bull Shoals Lake, in the 1960's.
I was impressed by the efforts of the original park designers/construction workers, in the building of this "tree well", to protect this tree that stood beside one of the roads.
This photo shows one of the First Day hikers, beside the sign pointing to Camp Area C.
This "Y" intersection shows the sign pointing to Camp Area D.
Besides the entry causeway, there is another shorter causeway, that forms one of two shallow lagoons that attract migrating waterfowl.
This photo shows one of the former campsites, that included an RV parking space, concrete picnic table with benches, food preparation table, and grill for cooking with wood fire. There are no plans to re-open the former campground to overnight camping.
The photo below shows why the area where I live is called the "TWIN LAKES" area. On the east side of my home is Norfork Lake, and on the west side of my home is Bull Shoals Lake. As you can see, both these lakes are predominantly in Arkansas, but they also extend northward into southern Missouri. Thus, Ozark Isle Nature Preserve will draw regular visitors from both northern Arkansas and southern Missouri. As it becomes more widely known, more visitors from other states will probably also enjoy activities there, when they are in the area.
This is me, giving thanks to God, that I get to live in an area that values nature, and preserving spaces that encourage outdoor activities. This place gives me "MILES OF SMILES"!! Tricia
When you take the training to become a certified Arkansas Master Naturalist ( 
This photo shows a group of North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists who met up on a chilly morning in early spring of this year, for the purpose of photographing and marking the GPS location of wildflowers we could find along the Dogwood Trail in Lakeview, Arkansas ( 
Besides making notes on the GPS devices, and automatic dating/mapping of photographs taken, there was also a "hard copy" (aka, pencil and paper) record kept, of what we found.
This photo shows that in addition to phones, cameras, and GPS devices, some folks were also using tablets and i-pads for recording data and photographs. (Did I mention it was CHILLY!!?? Hence, the need for "convertible" mittens!)
The Dogwood Trail is close to Bull Shoals Lake, in north central Arkansas. It is accessed by entering the Corps of Engineers Campground at Lakeview.
Instead of switchbacks to get from the top of the hill to the lakeshore area, the Corps has put in these steps, and wooden railing. 
The Dogwood Trail is a pleasant 3-mile-out-and-back (1.5 miles each way) jaunt. This sign indicates it has a 2 hour average walking time, but that is totally dependent on how many curiosities of nature one wants to investigate along the way. Our group was doing LOTS of photography and GPS mapping, so we were on the trail considerably longer than two hours.
In this photo, a Master Naturalist has spotted a tiny little flower coming out of the hard winter ground, and it is no bigger than a penny! (Which is appropriate, because that is the hiker's name!) She is photographing it with her smart phone, identifying it, and recording the GPS, co-ordinates for future reference. 
With special apps available for smart phones, all of the above can be done with a single "tap" of the finger! The app notes a location with a "stick pin icon". Then when the user clicks on the stick pin, the GPS co-ordinates will come up, along with any notes that have been added to describe the location. 
This may seem like a daunting task, which it is; however, our little group was just concentrating on spring wildflowers. There is a DIFFERENT group of North Central Arkansas Master Naturalists, that met weekly for several years, to complete a bio-inventory of the huge expanse of Bull Shoals-White River State Park! Now, that was a DAUNTING TASK, on a whole different level! The data this group of volunteers collected (which had the blessing of being led by a Master Naturalist volunteer who is a professional botanist) will be invaluable as the years go by, so that comparisons can be made of plants found in the park in the year 2050, as compared to those found in the park in the early 2000's. 
Note in this photo how there is a clearly-defined trail that leads to the stream at the bottom of the hill? Note that there are fallen leaves on either side of the trail? Do you think that happens by itself??? NOoooooo!! Members of the North Central Arkansas Trail Patrol regularly work on Dogwood Trail (and many others in the area) with a leaf blower, clippers, rakes, etc., to ensure a "defined" walking path for visitors. If the leaves had not been blown off this path, it would be invisible to anyone trying to negotiate their way to the bottom. So next time you are out enjoying our wonderful hiking trails, don't take them for granted! In fact, you might consider being a volunteer to help keep them open to visitors!
In this photo, our project leader, Jeff H., was not using a smart phone to take the necessary photo, rather his electronic tablet. 
His device had a special "clip-on" macro photography lens, that gave him the detail he was wanting in his pictures of the tiny wildflowers. 
Most field guides for wildflowers will give descriptions and illustrations of the plant in various seasons/stages of growth. Whereas, if there was only a photograph of a wildflower in full bloom, it might not be as easy it identify, if you were seeing it when it first emerges from the ground. 
In addition to looking on the ground, we did a bit of investigating of the buds that were beginning to come out on the some of the trees. In cases such as this, the bark of the tree can also be helpful for identification purposes.
I took this photo of Jeff, as he made photographic records of the topography along the trail. 
And here I am, with hands uplifted, giving thanks that I made it to the turn-around point of Dogwood Trail!
We recorded the GPS location of this early bloomer, so that in future years, we can go back and see if it continues to survive in this location. These records will also provide data that can show trends toward "early spring", "late spring", drought, and other changing climactic conditions.
I included this photo to show what a wildflower looks like in its "pre-blossom" phase.
Here is that same species of wildflower, but with the yellow bloom starting to emerge.
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