I came across another great article from the folks at Ozarks Water Watch in their most recent newsletter…

NW Arkansas Land Trust: The Beginning and the Vision

by Guest Contributor, Nicole Hardiman, NW Arkansas Land Trust Executive Director

In 2003, the Northwest Arkansas Land Trust (NWALT) was established by a group of local community leaders who were interested in addressing conservation needs within the Northwest Arkansas region.  The idea among the group was to apply the “land trust” concept locally, which previously has been a highly successful conservation tool across the nation. Because Northwest Arkansas experienced intense urban development over the past 20 years, the founding Board of Directors identified a need to preserve the region’s quality of life, existing green space, and natural resources.

Fast forward to 2011 and NWALT is established and gaining momentum, even during what has been tough economic times for conservation-focused non-profits. As of 2010, the all-volunteer Board acquired conservation easements on 93.5 acres within the Beaver Lake watershed, a few acres of which were part of a stream bank restoration project in partnership with Beaver Water District and the Watershed Conservation Resource Center.

Beaver Lake (one of NWALT’s target watersheds)

In the Illinois River watershed, the 120-acre Wilson Springs Conservation Area was recently donated to NWALT, making the organization part of the planning team for the on-going wetland prairie restoration project.  This project was spearheaded by Audubon Arkansas through funding provided by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Most recently, NWALT appointed its first-ever Executive Director, Dr. Nicole Hardiman. Nicole previously worked to establish the newly formed Beaver Watershed Alliance, a watershed protection organization focused on maintaining water quality in the Beaver Lake/Upper White River watershed. Nicole received her Ph.D. in Biology at the University of Cincinnati and has worked in water resource and quality issues over the last three years. Nicole is a Northwest Arkansas native, a fourth-generation University of Arkansas graduate, and spent many, many weekends swimming in Beaver Lake as a child.

Land conservation, in the form of conservation easements, land donations, and bargain sales, has been shown in recent studies to be a cost-effective and necessary tool for natural resource protection.  The Beaver Lake Watershed Protection Strategy (WPS) and the Illinois River Watershed Partnership’s draft management plan currently recommend forest and pasture conservation paired with streamside management zones as methods to protect against streambank erosion and to provide pollutant and/or nutrient filtration opportunities.  NWALT hopes to work within the Northwest Arkansas community to advance awareness of the relationship among water quality, economic development, and land conservation, as well as educating landowners on available conservation options.

West Fork Streambank Restoration

(photo courtesy of Watershed Conservation Resource Center)

By allowing land owners to take advantage of tax incentives for conservation easements and donations while still maintaining the desired use for their land, NWALT’s ultimate goal is to maintain Northwest Arkansas’s beauty, natural resources, rural culture, and quality of life. The NWALT Board recognizes the difficult decisions landowners face in regard to their land and the future use of their land and strives to maintain relationships with landowners that are built on integrity, honesty, and transparency.

A “deer pasture” on one of NWALT’s conservation easements in Rogers, AR

In the coming year, NWALT plans to develop the organization through diverse fund-raising and community outreach strategies, which are the first, necessary building blocks for any successful land trust. With support from the NWA community, NWALT will work towards effective implementation of Northwest Arkansas’s regional natural resource protection strategies.

Although you may not be able to attend, I thought I’d share with you the announcement of the upcoming AGFC meeting later this month.  AGFC has, over the years, implemented what they refer to as their Trout Management Plans for each of the different tailwaters they manage.  Each gets revisited every few years.  The studies that happen in between determine what action(s), if any, they will take during that time. 

We will report to you any significant outcomes from this meeting, but if you are in the area, please plan to attend!

Jeff Williams (our AGFC Trout Biologist) email below…

<begin Jeff’s email>

All,

We are planning to hold an informational meeting for Bull Shoals and Norfork Tailwaters on February 6^th from 6 -7:30 pm in the McMullin Lecture Hall on the campus of ASU-Mountain Home.  This meeting will provide us (AGFC) to update the public on current monitoring efforts (population samples, creel survey, etc.) of some of the management strategies implemented in 2007-2008 when we developed the management plan.  We will also discuss plans for upcoming projects.  The first half of the meeting will be a presentation of our monitoring data and the second half will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions.

I think this will be a very informative meeting and I encourage everyone to attend.  We will be advertising this through the normal media outlets, but feel free to pass this e-mail on to anyone that may be interested in attending.  Thank you.

Jeff

Jeff Williams

Trout Program Coordinator

E: j_williams@agfc.state.ar.us

<end Jeff’s email>

Please consider joining this wonderful organization to ensure the future of our watershed…

Copy from January Ozarks Water Watch Newsletter below:

How’s the Water?

Ozarks Water Watch is happy to present our fourth annual Status of the Watershed report designed to answer the question, “How is the water?” in the Upper White River basin. The rivers, lakes and streams in southwest Missouri and northwest Arkansas establish a foundation for the region’s economic prosperity and attractive lifestyle. If these waters become polluted or spoiled by unconstrained growth and development, they will diminish the vibrant economy, discourage visitors and tourism, and compromise the enjoyment so many in the region now find in these natural assets.

Historically our status reports have been based only on scientific studies of water conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and science faculty from the University of Arkansas and Missouri State University. This water quality data is definitely the gold standard. But as we all realize, conducting monitoring at that level is expensive and limits the number of sites that can be monitored.

Ozarks Water Watch is embarking on a new project that will combine other sources of water quality monitoring along with USGS data. This will include a program to build on and expand the highly successful volunteer-based Stream Team effort in both Missouri and Arkansas. Properly trained volunteers can provide reliable and valuable water quality data over a large number of sample sites providing for a higher resolution picture of how our lakes, streams and rivers are doing at any given place and time. This year’s 8 page report already includes additional data sources and Ozarks Water Watch will expand and refine our monitoring efforts to continue to bring you the best possible information on our basin’s water quality.

The above graph summarizes three years of biological monitoring by the University of Arkansas within the Upper White River Basin. (For complete information, you can access the 8 page status report online: HERE.) The 14,000 square mile basin reaches across 19 counties in Arkansas and Missouri and is home to a million people. According to USGS data, nutrient pollution is the biggest water quality problem facing the region. Nutrient pollution comes from many sources and drives the growth of the algae that can choke our streams and lakes. Urban and suburban areas contribute polluted runoff from streets, sidewalks, buildings, overfertilized lawns and bad development practices. Runoff from agriculture in rural areas carries nutrients and sediment to streams and lakes. While wastewater treatment methods have improved, many systems have yet to be upgraded and continue to discharge high nutrient effluent into our waters.

Another concern of the general public is if our waters are safe for their “intended recreational uses” such as swimming, boating and fishing. In almost every instance, the test results for the Ozarks streams in this report are safe for whole body contact (swimming). It should be noted that E coli test results from any given day are no indication of what the E coli levels are now as they can vary greatly from day to day. The waters listed in the “RED” zone in the above chart are impaired by nutrients which can be harmful to aquatic life and our fisheries and serve as an indication of where we may want to prioritize our water quality efforts.

The 8 page Status of the Watershed Report is available now online and in print. The print version is available at our offices in Kimberling City and will be distributed at many water quality events and conferences across the Upper White River Basin. The online version in .pdf format can be found here: 2011 Status of the Watershed Report.

Click here for the 19 page UPPER WHITE RIVER BASIN MONITORING ANALYSIS which contains the exact test site locations and background testing information on which our Status Report is based.

The water quality problems of the region start and end with us. We created the issues by working and living in the watershed. The roads we drive on, the farms where our food is grown and even the homes we live in contribute to water pollution. By taking ownership of the problem we can begin to fix it.

<end article>

Well, the budget for the Corps of Engineers is a little tight this year…  The following was sent to me by the Arkansas Hospitality Association.  These things have a history of coming out of the gate sounding more harsh than the eventual reality, but I thought it was an interesting read, so I thought I’d share it with you…

See letter from Jill Theil below:

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Tight budgets are requiring the Little Rock District of the Army Corps of Engineers to propose changes at several of its parks, including closing some less efficient facilities.

A series of public workshops to discuss these proposals and solicit public input is being scheduled for February at Piedmont, Mo., and at Mountain Home, Heber Springs, Russellville and Ozark, Ark. The workshop times, dates and locations will be announced when they are finalized.

Among tough choices being considered are changing recreation operations at 29 parks, including closing 13 campgrounds, four partial campgrounds, four day use areas, one partial day use area, and 10 boat ramps. Also under consideration is making the recreation season shorter at many additional parks.

Other likely park adjustments include reducing the frequency of trash pick-up, cleaning and mowing, as well as reduced maintenance response time and fewer temporary park rangers, law enforcement agreements and contract park attendants.

The proposed changes will reduce costs by an estimated $1.9 million annually ($921,000 for operation and maintenance expenses and $989,000 for labor).

Little Rock District operates 178 public parks and access areas. Making adjustments to the 8 percent of its park facilities that are less efficient will allow the district to place more emphasis on the remaining 92 percent.

Besides its recreation program, Little Rock District proposes to minimize the number of requests it accepts for new and changes to existing private boat docks, as well as the number of permits for mowing on government land and permits for meandering paths across public lands to the water’s edge. Also, the district will reduce inspections of these types of permitted shoreline activities and possibly cancel boundary maintenance activities.

Regarding other business lines, periodic lock and dam maintenance, dredging, and funding of the hydropower employee training program are also affected. It is anticipated most maintenance at power plants will be performed by agreements utilizing customer funding. All the choices have consequences.

As long as a maintenance backlog exists, so does the possibility of unanticipated breakdowns, which can cause a cascading effect on the district’s operation and maintenance program. However, focusing the district’s limited dollars on priority items helps reduce the risk.

National leaders are struggling to control spending in the wake of recession, while at the same time they had to react to a series of severe floods and disasters in 2011.

Little Rock District was not immune. Spring flood damage to district parks and navigation infrastructure totaled $33.5 million. Operations and maintenance funding has been reduced $17 million, and the maintenance backlog on the district’s top 15 needs is $68 million and growing. These factors are causing the district to limit the levels of service it can offer.

During the past several months, Little Rock District performed a thorough and deliberate review of operation and maintenance programs across all business lines so the district can focus available funds on the highest priority work. The district developed a three-tier ‘triage’ like system to help categorize and prioritize tasks because the district did not receive enough money to complete all “normal” day to day tasks.

The categories are must do, should do, and nice to do. The district will first address “must do” items before beginning “should do” items. The district does not anticipate having enough resources to accomplish any items in the “nice to do” category.

This is consistent with the Corps’ national recreation strategy to have a program that is sustainable and adaptable to fiscal challenges and responsive to user needs. And it will enable Little Rock District to provide the best levels of service within the available budget.

(see attachment for more information)  Rec Park Adjustments 18 Jan 12

Jill Thiel
Membership Services & Special Events
Arkansas Hospitality Association
501-376-2323
501-376-6517(fax)
jill@arhospitality.org

Well, it’s good news for Minimum Flow…  the ink is on the paper!

Read the news release from KTLO Radio below:

AGFC signs ‘historic’ minimum flow document

By: Jim Bodenhamer
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A major milestone yesterday in Little Rock as the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission approved the final piece of an agreement with the Army Corps of Engineers to ensure a steady or minimum flow of water below Bull Shoals Dam on the White River. A similar agreement is already in effect for the North Fork of the White River below Norfork Dam. A news release from the Commisson termed the
document “historic.”
The minimum flow project started in 1999 when then Game and Fish Commissioner Forrest Wood of Flippin broached the project at a commission meeting. At the meeting yesterday, Wood, who is no longer on the Commission, praised the Commission, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Southwest Power Administration for continuing to work on the project for the past 13 years. He also credited former U. S. Representatives Tim Hutchinson, John Boozeman and Marion Berry for cooperating in a nonpartisan fashion to help secure the necessary support in Congress.
Lakeview resort owner Jim Gaston also played a major behind the scenes role in getting minimum flow implemented.
A multi-million dollar project is already underway at Norfork Dam to alter that structure to allow for the release of cold water into the North Fork River during times when there is very little power generation and help maintain the trout fishery. Very little actual physical change is needed at Bull Shoals Dam to allow for the minimum flow releases. Game and Fish Assistant Director Mike Armstrong said he expects both projects to be operational this fall.

(Copyright © 2009 – 2011 Mountain Lakes Broadcasting Corporation. All rights reserved.)

Just got off the phone with Leon Alexander, spokesman for the Norfork National Fish Hatchery, and he had an update about the progress of the installations of the Diffuser units.

(To read more about the Diffusers and what they do, please read our previous post…)

Norfork National Fish Hatchery Diffuser Unit

As of December, there are 16 Diffusers that are completed and ready to install.

The holdup for final installation was a shortage of 6″ PVC pipe and 6″ PVC elbows.

Finally, the parts have arrived and the first 16 diffusers are scheduled to be installed after the first of the year.

8 more diffusers (for a total of 24) are still scheduled to be built and installed sometime after the first of the year.  The materials for these last diffusers have already been ordered.

Installation of these diffusers will help ensure our trout grow fast and are as healthy as they can be so they can be put in the river for YOU!

If you haven’t stopped by and checked out the hatchery, make it a point to do so on your next visit to the White River!  The hatchery is only 20 minutes from His Place Resort, and you can get a fun & educational tour, and see where our trout come from!

We got some great news about the Norfork National Fish Hatchery.  I don’t know if you remember, but we did a story earlier this year, and put up a webpage about the proposed budget cuts for 2012 that threatened to cut all funding for the Norfork National Fish Hatchery.

(If you’d like to read all of that information, you can visit our main website at http://www.hisplaceresort.net/TroutHatcheries.htm. )

Anyway, Leon Alexander, spokesperson for the local Friends of the Norfork Fish Hatchery, reports that we did indeed get funding in the 2012 budget.  The budget includes a total of $7.2 million for the nine mitigation hatcheries which were de-funded by the US Fish & Wildlife Service in their original budget request.

According to Leon, information submitted by Congressman Rick Crawford’s office says the funding is $3.8 million from  the Corps of Engineers, who will in turn reimburse the Fish & Wildlife Service, with the remainder coming from the Fish & Wildlife Service in the amount of $3.388 million.

(Some interesting things to note:  The Fish & Wildlife Service, who had permanently de-funded all hatchery mitigation, was basically forced by Congress to put that money back into the budget…  The original amount requested was $6.9 million, so the remainder of the $7.2 million will go back into the “deferred maintenance fund”, which was depleted covering operational expenses to date.  Some other funding has still not been reinstated; the TVA (Tennessee Valley Authority) for example, has not recommitted to mitigation funding.  Since they are not a governmental agency, they cannot be forced to start paying again…  they saw the opportunity when USFW Service de-funded mitigation money to follow suit…  and they did…  it will be one of the ongoing fights for the future.  To read the FY 2012 Final consolidated Appropriations Bill, click here. )

Leon says this is really good news for the hatchery employees and all those who depend on the Trout Hatcheries as a source of income, and for Baxter County and the local economy in particular, which relies heavily on trout fishing as a primary source of sales tax income.

Leon goes on to say that this took tremendous effort on the part of the Arkansas Congressional Staffs to accomplish this change in funding given current efforts to reduce all federal budgets.  He says Congressman Crawford and Senators Mark Pryor & John Boozman were tireless in their efforts to secure this funding for the Norfork and Greers Ferry National Fish Hatcheries.

We still have to remember that even though the funding has been approved for this year… We still have the same problem that we had before.  There is still not a permanent provision for future funding.  Until such funding is permanently earmarked, we’re going to come up against this threat every year.

However, we do need to enjoy this victory today!  Thanks to everyone who helped to make this happen, and regardless of where you live, take a minute to thank Congressman Crawford, Senator Mark Pryor, and Senator John Boozman for helping us out…  here is their contact information:

US Senator (from Arkansas) John Boozman (contact)
US Senator (from Arkansas) Mark Pryor (contact)
US Representative (from Arkansas) District 1 – Rick Crawford (contact)

Do you want to help more?  Join the Friends of the Norfork Hatchery!

We all need FRIENDS!

In closing, we want to wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

see you on the river…

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving!  We are still eating leftovers…

We always try to keep you updated on things that we think will be interesting to you, so this week I want to talk to you a little bit about what’s going on at the Norfork National Fish Hatchery.

If you remember, last year we dodged a bullet when the threat of Federal budget cuts threatened the operation of the hatchery itself… We appreciate those of you who took the time to write, call, and basically help us raise holy H**l, in addition to offering to come out and help work the hatchery yourselves…

Anyway, this posting is good news!  I’m taking a snip from the November issue of the hatchery newsletter to share with you about the diffuser installation currently underway.  Enjoy!

Friends of the Norfork National Fish Hatchery – The Raceway – November, 2011

Diffuser Installation in Progress

Norfork National Fish Hatchery Diffuser Unit

Great News!  Given the generosity of our benefactors, construction of 16 diffusers to be placed on Raceway Banks A & B is in full swing.  Our goal is to provide a total of 24 diffusers for banks A, B, C & D.

There has been $7183.70 spent out of the diffuser funds during the past month.  Starting out prior to the purchase of materials, there was $9685 in the account.  Funding analysis of recent and anticipated donations indicates that, with just a little more support, our initial goal for 24 diffusers will be achieved.  The total expense for the 24 diffusers will be pretty close to $21,000.

The hatchery has provided funding for 24 professional six-inch quick release unions at $71 per unit.  A complete list of benefactors will be announced as soon as we achieve our goal for 24 diffusers.  The Norfork National Fish hatchery is very thankful to all those individuals, groups and clubs that have made this important project possible.  Additional material will be ordered during the week of November 14.  During the next stage of construction, an additional jig will be built in order to increase production.  Due to the standard daily demand for specific hatchery duties, the staff is not always available for consistent production.  One or two more volunteers would be most appreciated

Construction of each diffuser is very labor-intensive and time-consuming.  Hatchery staff members, Doug Anderson, Doug Beard and Dale Plumlee, along with FNNFH VP, Joe Salisbury, began work on November 3.  An internal baffle assembly jig was refined and 100 24-inch perforated baffles were cut out from ten 4 x 10′ sheets.  A complete internal baffle component requires about two hours for one person to assemble.  Each completed internal baffle consists of eight baffle discs, four 6-foot rods, 72 nuts, 72 washers, 64 Teflon washers and 72 lock washers.  Four support legs and two cross beams are cut from 16 foot long angle iron.  Outside shells, 5 foot long, are cut from 20 foot, 24 inch tubing.  Six-inch piping is utilized to attach the completed diffuser to the water source.  Each diffuser is designed to manage and treat over 400 gallons of water per minute.

The diffuser’s primary purpose is to dissipate supersaturated nitrogen levels, increase dissolved oxygen, separate and remove sulfide and manganese through the entire year, creating the healthiest environment possible in order for the trout to mature to their healthiest level.

<end of article>

Hope you enjoyed the article…  see you on the White River soon!

As predicted, the lake levels at Bull Shoals have now returned to target level and below.  This has meant significantly lower flows.  Many of you have asked if this has meant “dead-low” water; to answer your question, No, it has not been dead-low, but it has been fairly “wadeable” in the mornings.  Norfork has been off quite a bit, too.

Here’s a look at what it’s been doing for the last several days…

<photo not available>

As you can see, they’ve been running some, but not nearly the amounts they’ve been running through the summer.

As far as what to use?

For our fly fishers, quite a few things have been been working.  Folks are having the best luck with woolly buggers, and red San Juan worms.  Especially in the morning, when the levels have been a little lower, bead head midges have been working as well.

For our spin fishers, even with the lower water, things have not changed too terribly much.  The same white/hot pink mice tails have still been the most productive thing going.  Several of our guests have also reported good luck with the larger nightcrawlers, too.

For those who like lures, pretty much any kind of gold or copper Colorado/Buoyant spoon, or Blue Fox has been producing really well.

The weather has been cool in the morning, and warming up nicely in the afternoon.  It’s a great time to come fishing on the White River, and I hope we see you soon!

I just wanted to share some photos with you taken by one of our guests, Wyatt H., over the last couple of days.

He got some great shots of immature Bald Eagles.  Thanks, Wyatt!

wyatthorscheagle1

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Wyatt H. photo of immature Bald Eagles, taken at His Place Resort, on the White River in Cotter, AR.