Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
2 Natural Resources Drive
Little Rock, AR 72205
May 2, 2005
Mercer Bayou
being drawn down for renovation
TEXARKANA - The Arkansas
Game and Fish Commission and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have joined
together to initiate construction and renovation of the water-control
facilities on Mercer Bayou. The bayou stretches across the Sulphur River
Wildlife Management Area in Miller County near Texarkana.
To complete the work, the AGFC will slowly draw the bayou down 2 feet from its current level. This will enable access for construction equipment and speed up the process of this much-anticipated improvement. Construction time is estimated at six months.
Ricky Adkison, regional
maintenance contract coordinator for the AGFC’s
Construction, Engineering and Real Estate Division, said, “There may be some
inconvenience to anglers and other outdoors enthusiasts up front, but the
end product will benefit the bayou immeasurably.”
The Sulphur River WMA is the largest intact portion of Red River bottomland left in southwest Arkansas, containing nearly 16,000 contiguous acres of prime wildlife habitat. Mercer Bayou impacts more than 10,000 acres of this land through periodic flooding and water storage. The bayou is the keystone to waterfowl hunting success in Miller County and also provides excellent fishing opportunities. In recent years, however, the water-control structures and the water cycle at Mercer Bayou have degraded, resulting in the entire system beginning to dry out and become unproductive.
The proposed renovation will fix the cuts leading from the bayou to the river and replace the massive dams on both ends of the bayou. New structures will be installed, allowing operators to manipulate water levels and mimic the natural processes that have maintained this rich ecosystem in the past. The water-control structures will also ensure waterfowl habitat and hunting opportunities every season.
The project has been in the planning and development stages for 15 years and was proposed as a 75/25 fund-matching operation between the Corps and the AGFC. The recent boost in funding granted by the 1/8th-Cent Conservation Sales Tax enabled the AGFC to gather the needed matching funds. The total cost of the project is $3,000,000 with the AGFC contributing $750,000.
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