POCAHONTAS – The second phase of restoration to Dave Donaldson Black River Wildlife Management Area in northeast Arkansas will delay the closure of flooding structures on greentree reservoirs in the WMA until Oct. 31.
The restoration of the WMA has been a long time coming, as it was the focus of a seven-year lawsuit between the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Army Corps of Engineers. Altered water management plans caused extensive flooding of trees during the growing season for many years, which eventually led to a catastrophic die-off.
The first phase of restoration included compiling and analyzing hydrologic data to plan future steps in water management and wildlife habitat throughout the WMA. As part of the next phase of the study, the U.S. Geological Survey will capture needed river data and flow patterns throughout the WMA. This requires the USGS to install three daily flow-gauging stations (on Little River, Black River and Murray Creek). USGS staff also will install five headwater/tailwater gauging stations within the greentree reservoirs on the WMA. Installation of this equipment will require a delay in closure of water control structures on the WMA.
According to Terence Teel, AGFC wildlife supervisor in Jonesboro, the delay should have a minimal impact on water levels in the greentree reservoirs for the upcoming duck season. Recent mulching within drainages throughout the WMA has reduced the time needed to flood the area.
The gauges placed throughout the WMA will record water level information and rainfall data that will be transmitted to the USGS website. Data gathered from the new gauges will be used to aid in water level management and infrastructure design decisions. The WMA is divided into five GTRs by a series of levees. The GTRs are designed to be a flow-through system based on inputs from the Black River and Little River. Boards are placed in water control structures to raise and lower the water levels within each GTR but the system can be, and frequently is, overtopped by the rivers feeding it.