West Fork of the White River Watershed Coordination

This project aimed to use education and encouragement of community partnerships to address the issue of sediment loading. Sediment loading due to agriculture land clearing, road construction and maintenance, and gravel removal from streambeds has impaired the West Fork of the White River and subsequently Beaver Lake. To accomplish this, Audubon built a team of citizens to develop watershed conservation plans and partner with existing organizations to assist in their water conservation projects. Lastly, Audubon created a Watershed Restoration Strategy Plan to outline steps for future efforts. Several projects came out of this project including the College Branch Streambank Restoration Initiative, the Duncan Ave. Wetland Prairie Acquisition and Restoration, conservation easement development with individual landowners, development of a West Fork watershed group, as well as other streambank restoration projects. Partners on this project include the University of Arkansas, the Washington County Cooperative Extension Service, Arkansas Department on Environmental Quality, West Fork Watershed Group, Town Branch Neighborhood Association, Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, City of Fayetteville, Arkansas Forestry Commission, Beaver Water District, Environmental Protection Agency, the Arkansas Soil and Water Conservation Commission, and the National Audubon Society. This project was completed in 2005.