Freeing War Eagle Creek- Navigating the First Year of a Four-Year, Multi-Partner, and Multi-Fish Passage Barrier Removal Project
Sean Saunders
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
North Central Arkansas Stream Habitat Coordinator
Salem, Arkansas
Becky Roark
Beaver Watershed Alliance
Elkins, AR
Tim Burnley
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
Mountain Home, AR
Authors: Saunders, S.M., Roark, B.L., Hagood, D.H.
War Eagle Creek (WEC) is the largest tributary to Beaver Lake, a drinking water source for 50,000 residents in Northwest Arkansas. Segments of WEC are listed on the 303(d) list for nonattainment due to turbidity and pathogens and twenty-seven Species of Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN) occur in WEC, including two federally protected species. A collaborative partnership between Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, Beaver Watershed Alliance, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, landowners, nonprofits, state and local governments, and others are working together to remove four steam barriers, including a large dam, to reconnect 434 miles of stream on War Eagle Creek, restore approximately 5,500 linear feet of streambanks, create 5 acres of wetlands, install instream habitat structures, supplement populations of SGCN and T&E species, and reduce flood and safety hazards for residents and visitors. Efforts also include monitoring and providing community services such as conservation education, training, and sharing informative quantitative data on the benefits of dam removals in the central United States.
The project will restore habitat for target species, as well as provide beneficial outcomes for drinking water, watershed function, wildlife, outdoor recreation, farming, and education. Learn from this presentation on the multiple benefits of stream barrier removal, critical steps taken to move through the first year of a complex process and how partnerships and education are key to achieving large-scale efforts for restoration.
About Sean Saunders
Sean Saunders is an American Fisheries Society Certified Fisheries Professional that has a distinguished career in environmental management and wildlife conservation, primarily through his roles at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission and the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Since 2015, he has been serving as the Northwest Arkansas Stream Habitat Coordinator at the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission in Little Rock. In this role, Sean is responsible for surveying, designing, and supervising large scale fish passage barrier removal and stream restoration projects. Prior to this, from 2012 to 2015, he was a District 10 Water Inspector at the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, where his duties included water sampling, stormwater inspections, and addressing citizen water quality complaints. Sean has been actively involved in various special projects and environmental initiatives, such as the Lake Harrison Dam Removal Project and the Huntsville Lake Dam Removal Project along with multiple other stream restoration and fish passage barrier removal projects. In addition to his professional endeavors, Sean has been a dedicated member of several boards and committees, including the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service Water Quality Subcommittee and the Multibasin Regional Water Council. Educationally, Saunders is well-grounded with a Bachelor of Science in Wildlife Management and Fisheries from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, completed in 2008, and an Associate of Health Science from Arkansas State University - Beebe, earned in 2005. Sean has also continued his education in stream restoration by completing all 4 levels of Wildland Hydrology, 2 courses by Dave Derrick, and the Canadian Rivers Institute Newbury Riffle course.
www.linkedin.com/in/sean-saunders-a06b052aa
About Becky Roark
Coming Soon
About Tim Burnley
Coming Soon