Dr. Neil Compton Conservation Act

Dr. Neil Compton, of Benton County, Arkansas, was born on August 1, 1912, in Falling Springs Flats.

Dr. Neil Compton, from 1942 to 1946 served in the United Sates Naval Reserve with the rank of Lieutenant Junior Grade, Medical Corps, and retired in 1972 with the rank of Captain.

Dr. Compton, the Founder of Ozark Society, was credited with saving the Buffalo River from being dammed in two places by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Dr. Compton received numerous awards for his conservation work, including the coveted American Motors Conservation Award on May 20, 1964, as well as the Distinguished Arkansas Conservationist award from the Sears Roebuck Foundation and the National and Arkansas Wildlife Federation, both of which were presented on November 17, 1966.

In l982, Dr. Compton wrote The High Ozarks: A Vision of Eden, featuring photographs he made during his favorite Ozark explorations. This was followed in 1992 by The Battle for the Buffalo River: A Conservation Crisis in the Ozarks, published by the University of Arkansas Press, which was nominated for the National Book Award, and The Buffalo River in Black and White (Ozark Society Books, 1997).

Fifty years ago, Dr. Compton played an integral part in having the Buffalo National River named the first national river in 1972 during the 91st Congress.

In general— The Tyler Bend Visitor Center located on Tyler Bend Road in St. Joe, Arkansas, shall be known and redesignated as the “Dr. Neil Compton Visitor Center”.

References— Any reference in a law, map, regulation, document, paper, or other record of the United States to the visitor center referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be a reference to the Dr. Neil Compton Visitor Center.