CMN Business Park in Fayetteville, Arkansas remains one of the crown jewels of EGIS Natural Developments projects.

The CMN project began as a 300 acre family farm.  The farm was utilized as pasture and to grow hay, and contained a number of small man-made livestock ponds.  Mud Creek, Scull Creek, Clear Creek, and an unnamed tributary to Mud Creek are the most prominent hydrological features on the site; which contains approximately three miles of stream bed. Additionally, the project site contained approximately 15 acres of small depressional areas, mostly in the floodplains of the creeks, which exhibited wetlands characteristics.  As a result of cattle usage, the banks of the creeks and the depressional wetlands were degraded in various places.

As a result of planned urban development and impacts to waters of the United States, the project was subject to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, administered by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Through the 404 permit process, the project was enabled to replace and/or enhance degraded waters.  In an effort to promote environmental stewardship for proposed impacts, the project deed restricted in perpetuity 40 acres of riparian zones along the streams and eight acres of newly created wetlands within the floodplain of Mud Creek. In addition, three acres of existing wet areas were preserved and enhanced.

EGIS constructed and enhanced wetlands by planting trees and herbaceous plants of the type which frequent wet sites. Approximately 900 trees were installed within the created areas, riparian zones, and preserved or enhanced areas.  Additional wildlife enhancement features within the mitigated landscape include wood duck nesting boxes, mallard nesting structures, Canada goose nesting platforms, songbird nesting boxes, and bat houses.

Habitat improvements to the stream complexes were also installed. Habitat improvements included minimum or low flow channels, boulder complexes, stream shelves, bank stabilization (e.g., willow plantings and rock placement), stream substrate restoration pool enhancements, riffle complexes, and riparian zone plantings for bank stabilization and stream shading.

Other environmental stewardship activities on the site included the installation and maintenance of three miles of erosion control silt fencing, hay bale structures, rock check dams, diversion channels, seeding, mulching, and maintaining natural buffer strips.