Salado Creek Gauge

[Bill Goodin]

In the January issue of The Paddler there was mention of progress being made with USGS in gauge installation on The Salado Creek in Independence County. Lying within The Fayetteville Shale, and flowing into The White River are pluses ! Gauge installation at the bisection of state hwy.167 near the old bridge stone pillars should be simple.

Does anyone have communication with USGS specific to The Salado ?
Ideas to help facilitate the process ?

Thank you.

Bill Goodin

[Cowper]

Direct contact with USGS has not yet been made. DeBo has had conversations with Randy Young of the Arkansas Natural Resources Council (ANRC), and is getting together a list of potential future gages to request. (USGS likes to "partner" on gages whenever possible with other interested agencies.) I was helping assemble the list and adding specific suggested locations, to include in a letter from DeBo as ACC Conservation Chair, to ANRC. Frankly, she got sidetracked by her many other commitments while I got sidetracked by the fact that it actually rained here in Arkansas. (Or as Team ADD would say, Look at the Butterfly!!!!)

Lee Creek and Salado will probably be at the top of any prioritized list. Even though Salado didn't come out "top" in the poll I posted on this board like Lee, it is a stream that would be accessible to a wide range of paddler skill-levels, and is in a part of the state that sometimes gets rain when nothing else does. It also has the selling point of being able to attract out-of-state boaters from Memphis.

Thanks for "stirring the pot" - we'll get back on it soon and give you an update, as well as try to make suggestions on how others can help make it happen.

[shelbyjohnson]

Curious if Salado is close enough to Wolf Bayou to be a surrogate indicator for what Wolf Bayou might be doing?

[mhoward]

From the Memphis crew, we contacted the USGS a while back and this was the response we got.

> Sent: Sunday, September 17, 2006
> His voicemail says "this is Bubba" and he did return my call today. The
> annual maintenance fee is, are you ready?, $15,000!!!!
>
> Bubba suggested to get a govt. agency or congressman involved?


Michael

[Cowper]

Depending on where they would put the gage, Wolf is about 13 to 18 miles to the WNW.