Arkansas Canoe Club Forums

Middle Fork of the Saline: River Restoration Project

This is a great project. Come down and check out the amazing work going on here. I plan on being there on both the 4th and the 11th. We might even get to paddle. Hope to see you there.

When: Fri. Dec. 4, Sat Dec. 5th, Fri. Dec. 11th
Where: Stream restoration site in Jessieville, Ar (see directions)
What to Bring: Water bottle (we have a water cooler), lunch, very warm
clothes (sturdy and layered), shoes you can get muddy (mud boots and
maybe some old tennis shoes), work gloves (work gloves with grips work
best), small sledges if you have them.

Volunteers can come whenever they like. TNC staff will be at the site around
8:00 and leave around 5:00. They will arrive at 9:00am on Saturday.

Directions to Project:
Take Highway 5 West out of Benton toward Hot Springs Village to AR Highway 7 North. Take 7 North past Hot Springs Village to Jessieville.

The high school will be on the right. Make a hard right on to Beaudry Street, go 3-4 miles. You will cross a stream, the road turns at a 90° turn to the right. Go ½ mile, veer right onto Newkirk Road. Go 1-2 miles – there will be a cemetery that you can see on the left.

There is an open gate to a field on the right – location of project

If you go to the cemetery, you’ve gone too far.

34.702495, -93.005233 Coordinates are approximate.


Take a look at the project here: http://www.streamrestoration.typepad.co ... alineriver" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Anyone out there?

This is an awesome project!!!!!! I have been working as a volunteer on it 1-2 times a week for over a month. The Nature Conservancy really needs help with the "bioengineering". Stream banks have been sculpted to reroute the river channel to stop severe erosion. It is now critical that these new banks be stabilized with anti-erosion matting and tree cuttings.

"Stan" (AKA Margaret Bartelt)

Might try circulating this to local High Schools in the area. National honor society, Beta club, and students in other organizations are always on the look out for volunteer opps. I forwarded this to some students at Conway High, but there seems to be more interest in projects 'in their own back yard'. Good Luck.

bmartin wrote:Might try circulating this to local High Schools in the area. National honor society, Beta club, and students in other organizations are always on the look out for volunteer opps. I forwarded this to some students at Conway High, but there seems to be more interest in projects 'in their own back yard'. Good Luck.

This is a very good idea. I believe that they got some students from Jessieville for one day recently but,it is really hard to get them at short notice and at this time of year. I will try some other schools in the area after the New Year to help plant the larger trees.

For now we just need to get the banks stabilized with matting and willow stakes before they get washed out. As Stan said, it is such a neat project and with the club's interest in creating play waves and in conservation, I thought at least a few people would want to see it and spend some time helping.

This is the same engineering technolgy that is used to build waves in all the whitewater parks in Colorado. When they are done, this braided section of stream will be confined to one channel and several drops created.

I will be there tomorrow.

If was down there I would come help out - no doubt.

Not only do the volunteers in this type of project likely count as in kind match which adds value to the project, but they get to expedite the healing process for the river and maybe even learn a little bit if they pay attention....not to mention earn some more river karma.....hello.

Fall/winter is a hard time to revegetate an exposed channel for sure. Most perennials that are needed to strengthen the stream bank don't grow during this time period. However if the proper channel design is in place that accounts for the stream type, valley type, stream slope, meander width, regional cfs curve, width to depth ratio of the bankfull channel an so on.....it ought to hold out real well in the meantime.

I know that the Watershed Conservation Resource Center in Fayetteville did a top notch natural channel restoration design on three creeks up here in NWA. They made 4 new play spots on the West Fork of the White between winslow and brentwood also. Gotta love a J hook and some cross vanes. Not only do they direct channel flow, but they make for good play spots !

For each project the WCRC did they had unusually high rates of precipitation including a tropical storm before revegetation could take place. Talk about sweating bullets. Put about $500,000 total or about $200 per linear foot into a project and it better work out....or negative reinforcement will kick in for the landowner....they will tell all and soon folks will rip rap or concrete the hell out of a bank instead of ever considering natural channel design. Not to mention the reputation of the stabilizing folk. It is amazing how much is unpredictable for long term success, how high the cost is, how high the stakes are, how many rivers in arkansas are very unstable, and how easy it is to prevent the problems from ever occurring. One thing is for sure though - restore the bank and educate the landowner. One less problem to worry about.

I just don't get how many people clear all the way down to the river because they want to see it. Obviously they don't understand if they clear all the way to the creek so they can see it..... it will be sure to come see them.

The real future challenge may be addressing the rest of the urban growth that is yet to occur and can dramatically alter watershed hydrology.

Just as soon as you realize that you are way behind and can't possibly educate every streamside landowner about how to prevent streambank erosion, what the value and functions of riparian buffers are......Comes the big bad urban sprawl that can either ruin or degrade every single stream there is left in the state - even the protected ones.

Good luck in gathering up volunteers. Be sure to call up some boy scouts if some more paddlers can't make it out.

Thanks John! Sounds like you know a lot about it. I have heard lots of good things about the restorations in the Fayetteville area. Sandi Formica has been inviting me up to take a look at a restoration she is working on.

I'll be at the Project site on Saturday.